The End is Only the Beginning
by OnyxEmerald
Summary: This story picks up from where the series finale left off. Will they be able to defeat the Patriots with Texas on their side? I read the comics and thought meh... I'm using the 100 prompts to complete the story.
1. Beginnings

**Beginnings**

They were all relieved when they managed to get Texas on their side. Now they actually had a fighting chance of winning the war against the Patriots. Rachel made her way over to Miles. She noticed that Miles and her father were talking, and that her father was happy. Miles notices the blonde's presence and speaks first.

"So, your daughter just gave me her blessing." He stated. She looked at him in amusement with a raised eyebrow. They didn't exactly hide how they felt about each other.

"Well, that's a start." She chuckled. Rachel looked into the tent that they were standing next to. When she saw that it was vacant, she pulled Miles into it with her. His lips were on hers before she had time to say anything else. Their make out session came to an end when they saw a shadow coming around the corner. They stood there silently hoping no one would walk in on them. Fortunately the person went into another tent. Rachel walked out of the tent first. Charlie had emerged from the tent next to the one that she and Miles were in.

"Has anyone seen Monroe or Connor?" Charlie asked. Rachel shook her head.

"Don't worry, they'll be back soon. Do you really think Bass is going to miss out on taking down the Patriots?" Miles stated startling both women. Charlie laughed, knowing that Miles was right. Rachel rolled her eyes at hearing this. The only person Rachel didn't mind sharing Miles with was her daughter. Miles has been like a father to her these past few months and still continues to do so. Sebastian Monroe on the other hand kept Miles away from her for his own selfish reasons.

"We'll need them to help out with the battles." Charlie replied. She knew that they would be better off if they had more people. "You did say now that we have Texas on our side we could get rid of the Patriots by summer." She added.

"I did." Miles assured them. Gene sees the three of them talking and heads over to them. "As I promised your father, we will start in Willoughby." Miles added acknowledging Gene's presence.

"I really do appreciate it." The older man replied as he shook Miles' hand. Seeing the two of them get along put Rachel at ease.

"I will also help fix any damage done to your house." Miles insisted. The doctor wasn't about to turn down help. Charlie nodded in agreement.

"I will help in any way that I can." Charlie stated.

"Me too." Rachel added.

"Alright, let's round up our guys some allies and head to Willoughby." Gene suggested as he walked off to start gathering the others. Charlie left to go do the same thing, leaving Miles and Rachel alone.

"I see you are trying to get in my father's good graces." Rachel laughed. Miles nodded.

"I am. That's not the only reason I am doing this though. It is an added bonus." He explained.

"Really, what's your other reason?" The blonde asked confused as to what he meant by this. Miles knew that he loved her and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He feels bad for all of the things that happened in the past, and knows that he cannot change it. Rachel came back into his life, and he saw this as a sign. He let her go once, and he wasn't going to make that same mistake again.

"Well you see, when we were staying in Willoughby I kind of started to like it over there." Miles answered truthfully. Rachel knew where Miles was about to go with this, or she thought she knew.

"I thought you hated Texas." She teased. He looked at her and shrugged.

"I don't care where I live now. As long as it is safe and I have you and Charlie it doesn't matter where I live." Miles confessed. This took Rachel by surprise. "Also, you and Charlie are the only family your father has left." He added. Rachel was touched by her lover's words. Thanks to Miles, she had reconnected and grown closer to her father since coming back home after the incident at the tower. She had overheard him thanking Miles for bringing her back, but she also heard her father tell him that he was not good for her. Rachel was glad that Miles and her father were making progress.

"I'm tired of running." Miles admitted. This made Rachel smile. Miles was glad to see her happy again.

"Are you saying you want to settle down?" She asked. The blonde welcomed the idea of them living in Willoughby, having actual jobs that didn't involve killing, and being close to her family.

"Something like that." Miles replied. Before he could say anything else, Rachel pulled him into a passionate kiss not caring who saw them. They had a long way to go before any of this could happen. Preventing a war between Texas and California was just the beginning. Defeating the Patriots was the next step in their plan.


	2. Middles

**Middles**

Bass and Connor had joined the group just as they were about to leave. They were right outside of Willoughby, so they didn't have far to go. They were taking a break in the woods right outside of the town. They were also coming up with a plan so their attack on the Patriots would be successful.

"I say we just barge in and start taking them down as soon as we spot them." Bass suggested. Rachel rolled her eyes and glared at Monroe. She really didn't want any more innocent children getting hurt. Miles looked at her and knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Perhaps another idea?" Miles asked hoping to put her at ease. "Preferably one that doesn't involve children getting killed in the crossfire." He added. Bass glared at him and shrugged.

"Then how the hell are we supposed to stop the damn Patriots?" Bass scoffed. He was starting to get agitated with Miles for always siding with Rachel. A thought just crossed Rachel's mind when she looked over at Connor. A smile spread across the blonde's face. Since Monroe was a father, she figured out a way to get her point across.

"What if it were Connor?" She asked knowing she didn't have to say anything else. As much as Sebastian Monroe despised Rachel, she was still right.

"You have a fair point." He grumbled. He was trying to be civil with Rachel for Miles' sake. He knew Miles loved Rachel. Just recently he found that out the hard way. Miles started confiding in her and siding with her rather than him. Rachel was trying to be civil with Bass because she knew that he was Miles' best friend. As much as she hated to admit it, they needed him.

"How about we only attack the necessary targets rather than the children the Patriots are using to do their dirty work. We are less likely to get killed if we don't just barge in and start shooting." Connor countered his father's suggestion. Rachel was starting to like Connor more and more. This wasn't the first time that he had put Bass in his place. He was a little bit more reasonable than his father.

"He's right." Charlie said coming to Connor's defense. "If we storm in all at once in the same spot those fuckers could have us surrounded in no time." Charlie added. Rachel cut her off before she could finish what she was going to suggest.

"Charlotte Anne Matheson! Was the language really necessary?" Rachel nagged. She knew Charlie was an adult, but it wasn't like her. Another reason she hates Sebastian Monroe. His bad mannerisms were starting to rub off on her daughter.

"Charlotte Anne?" Connor repeated with a chuckle. Charlie nodded.

"And I'm sure yours is much better?" She teased. Bass looked at his son. He didn't even know his son's full name. Connor was glad that this subject wasn't brought up until now.

"It's Ian." He replied hoping that his father wasn't paying attention. Much to Connor's dismay his father had heard him.

"Good to know." Monroe said giving Connor a smug smile.

"I never understood the point of having a middle name if it's never actually used. It seems they are only used when you are being yelled at." Miles teased Rachel.

"It's not just for that." The blonde retorted.

"Yeah!" Bass agreed with her, as much as it killed him. "What if your parents cannot agree on a name when picking your name?" He asked. "One gets to pick the first name and the other gets to pick the middle." He added. Gene nodded in agreement.

"I never thought of it like that." Miles answered truthfully.

"The women always get the final say though." Bass mumbled. "If my mother would have had her way completely, my name would have been Ray Joseph." Monroe said making a disgusted face at the thought. He actually liked his name. "She also insisted that Ray was going to be part of my name and put her foot down." He laughed Even though his family was gone he still liked talking about the good memories.

"As far as I know that wasn't the case with me." Miles said. "Mine is Eli." He added.

"What about you, Mom?" Charlie asked. Rachel shook her head. She was not about to give that information out.

"Porter." She replied with a smug smile. Gene chuckled and decided to help his granddaughter out.

"Rachel Victoria, that is your maiden name, not your middle name." Gene teased hoping to put a smile on Charlie's face. Miles looked at Rachel and smiled. The blonde put her face in her hands to hide the fact that she was blushing.

"No need to be embarrassed, your name is as beautiful as you are." He whispered in her ear causing her to smile. Connor decided to get everyone back on topic.

"I know this is fun and all, but we need to get back to our plan." Connor spoke up getting everyone's attention.

"The kid is right." Miles agreed. "Charlie was going to tell us her idea until someone got us off topic by calling out middle names." Miles said as he winked at Rachel.

"I was going to suggest that we pair up. We will all make our way into town from different directions so we have them surrounded as we move in." Charlie finished. Everyone was impressed with Charlie's plan.

"That sounds like it will work! They won't call in the kids if they think they can take us on." Gene added.

"If we surround them, there won't be time for them to notify all of their men." Connor explained adding on to Charlie and Gene's suggestions. They broke off into pairs. Bass was with Connor, Gene was with Charlie, and Rachel was with Miles. They divided the rest of the men up between the three groups. Gene and Charlie were going to go in through the front. The other two groups were going to come in through the opposite sides.

"Alright, we have a plan, let's move." Bass stated as he motioned for everyone to start moving.

"Let's go kick some Patriot ass!" Rachel said as they started making their way towards their destination. Miles couldn't pass up an opportunity.

"Rachel Victoria! Watch your language, young lady." Miles teased and she playfully swatted him. Once they were close they went their separate ways.

"See you in the center of Willoughby!" Bass shouted as the groups separated.


	3. Ends

**Endings**

They were waiting for their cue before they went any further. Rachel and Miles' group had made it to their spot. The blonde was starting to get anxious.

"What's taking them so long?" Rachel whispered to Miles not wanting the others to panic. Miles shrugged.

"I have no clue." He replied truthfully. He was worried too, but he was not going to let Rachel see that. He had to be strong for her. Before they could worry anymore, they heard two gunshots. That was their signal to start moving in. "Let's get these Patriots!" Miles yelled as he motioned for everyone to follow him. "They are going to regret invading Willoughby." He added as they started making their way in.

Meanwhile in the front, Gene and Charlie prepare to make their entrance with their group. Before they could do so they are greeted by a familiar voice.

"Looks like someone is ready to take their town back." The General spoke startling both Gene and Charlie.

"Frank, what are you doing here? I thought you had already left to head back to Austin." Gene replied.

"I was until I heard Miles saying something about starting in Willoughby." Frank admitted. He felt like he owed Miles since he saved his life. Gene was now confused.

"So you are helping us take Willoughby back?" The doctor asked. Frank nodded.

"Believe it or not, Miles Matheson actually saved my life. If it weren't for him coming to Austin to warn me, I wouldn't be standing here right now." Blanchard explained.

"Miles really has changed and I'm liking it." Gene agreed.

"Helping take back Willoughby is the least I can do." Blanchard insisted. Charlie liked the fact that people were starting to warm up to the idea of Miles sticking around, especially her grandfather. Gene went from hating Miles to actually being okay with him. There is still progress to be made, but they are on good terms, and that's all that mattered to Charlie. "I also wanted to talk with Miles. Do you know where he is?" The General asked both Charlie and Gene.

"We split up into three groups to make our way in. Grandpa and I are entering through the front. Bass and Connor are on one side, and Miles and my mom are on the other." Charlie explained their plan to General Blanchard. The older man nodded.

"So the plan is to have them surrounded?" He asked.

"Hopefully if all goes well, we will meet up in the center of the town." She added. She wanted to know what he wanted with Miles, but she decided not to pry.

"Where do you need me and my men to go?" He asked.

"We don't have a group covering the back entrance of the town." Gene suggested that he and his men go there.

"I will take my men to the back then." The General replied as he motioned for his men to follow him.

Bass and Connor were making their way down the path when they noticed a few Patriots standing by the fence. They took the men down in no time and proceeded towards the center of the town. Bass didn't really consider that a fight because it was only five men that they had to take down.

"That was just a warm up." Bass told his son who was standing next to him. Connor was scanning the area to make sure there weren't any more Patriots lurking around the corner.

"It's all clear." Connor stated as they started to move further into the town. They took out a few more Patriots on the way as they got closer to the center. Right as they were about to meet up with Miles and Rachel's group, more Patriots came towards them. The group took them down and proceeded towards the heart of the town.

"Any trouble?" Bass asked.

"Nope." Miles replied as they met up with the other group. Rachel looked around to see if there was any sign of her father and daughter. Miles saw the worry in her eyes and knew exactly who she was looking for. He put an arm around her shoulder and reassured her that they were okay. Every time Charlie was separated from them she would get anxious waiting for her to return safely. "I'm sure they are fine." Miles whispered in her ear.

"I see them!" Bass shouted as he pointed to the group of people in the distance approaching them. Rachel didn't believe him at first. As the group got closer she could make out Charlie and Gene. She sighed in relief knowing that they were okay. Now Miles was the one worrying. He saw another group approaching them.

"If that is Charlie and Gene's group, then who are those people?" Miles asked as he pointed to the group approaching them from the opposite direction. Bass was about to order the men to start shooting at the other group. Rachel put her hand up to stop him.

"What if they are on our side, you idiot!" She shouted at him before he could give orders.

"She's right, they could be more allies." Miles agreed. Bass shook his head and put his hands up in defeat. Miles has sided with Rachel over him again. Bass was convinced that Miles was blinded by Rachel.

"If we are going to win this war, we are going to need all the help we can get." Connor added trying to calm his father down.

"Fine, but if they start shooting at us I'm firing back at them." Monroe argued. Gene and Charlie finally made it to the middle of the town with their group. Gene approached them and put them all at ease.

"We have extra help thanks to you, Miles." Gene pointed out as he gestured to the other group that was approaching them. Rachel immediately looked at Bass smiled.

"Who?" Miles asked.

"Frank Blanchard." The doctor replied. This shocked all of them. "He said he owes you because you saved his life." He added. Rachel elbowed Bass in the side.

"Aren't you glad you didn't start shooting at them?" Rachel chided.

"Ouch!" Bass yelped as he put a hand on his aching side. "That hurt." He complained. "Yes, I'm glad I didn't start shooting. Is that what you want me to say?" He went on hoping that she wouldn't elbow him again. The blonde did not regret her actions one bit. Taking an elbow to the side was nothing compared to what he had put her through when he kept her as a prisoner. Charlie spoke up before Bass and her mother had a chance to get into a major argument. She didn't know what all Bass had done to her mother, but knew it must have been absolutely horrible for her to hate him as much as she does.

"Mr. Blanchard also said that he wanted to talk with Miles." Charlie stated getting Miles' attention right away.

"I wonder what he wants?" Connor added. They waited for the General and his men in the middle of the town. As they got closer, Miles approached them.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Miles asked. The General nodded and proceeded to explain himself.

"Since we both share the same goal of getting rid of the Patriots, how about we work together." Frank offered. Miles was going to accept his offer regardless, but he wanted to hear the rest of the offer.

"Go on." Miles replied wanting the General to continue.

"You trained all of the men that fought for the Monroe Republic. Maybe if we train more men we could destroy them quicker. Also we could find Truman easier. I have a bone to pick with him." The General offered. "We could make Willoughby our headquarters." He added.

"I'm in!" Miles replied. "What about the rest of you?" He asked.

"I'm in too." Rachel replied. Charlie nodded and agreed to this plan as well.

."Me too." She said.

"I am as well." Connor added.

"Count me in too. I will help out in any way that I can." Gene answered. Everyone looked at Sebastian Monroe waiting for him to answer.

"What about you?" Blanchard asked.

"I'm in." Bass replied reluctantly agreeing to go along with Frank Blanchard's idea. He didn't want to stay around and train soldiers, he wanted to be part of the action.

"We will go about our day as normal citizens unless we are provoked." Frank explained the rest of the plan to everyone.

"He's right enemies are less likely to discover us that way." Charlie agreed.

"What are we waiting on?" Miles asked. "Let's start rebuilding Willoughby so we can have our town back and finally put an end to this war!" Miles shouted happily at the top of his lungs.


	4. Insides

**Chapter 4: Inside**

It had been a few days since they started to repair and rebuild Willoughby. They were making a lot of progress since they had the extra help. Miles, Rachel, Charlie, Connor, and shockingly Bass were helping Gene repair the damage done to his home. All that was left was to make minor repairs to the inside of the house. Ever since the blackout Gene's home had also become his practice. They needed to help Gene first so he could get back to work quickly.

While helping Gene, Miles had seen a house close by that he really liked. He had been meaning to ask about it, but hasn't had the time to do so. He wants it to be just him, Rachel, and Charlie. If Bass lived with them, one of two things would happen. One would be Rachel putting Bass in his place. The second would be him losing Rachel again, which he wasn't going to let happen.

"How much more work do we have left to do on the house?" Bass asked. It was obvious to everyone that he was itching to leave. Bass wasn't here by choice; his son spoke for him when they were making plans. He would much rather have been finding the Patriots in the area and taking them down. There was no way he was going to put up with Rachel Matheson more than he had to.

"As long as it takes to repair all of the damages." Rachel snapped. This was not the first time he asked. "If you want to leave, be my guest, Bass." Rachel was being civil to him even though it was killing her on the inside to do so. She has been holding in her anger and hate towards him for quite some time. She so badly wanted to lash out at him for all of the terrible things that he did to her over the years, but she didn't because they need him. She went back to what she was doing. She and Charlie were going through the valuable possessions her father had hidden before the Patriots had invaded his home.

"Don't worry about him, Rachel." Miles said as he came up behind them. "You and I both know that Bass has to be in on all of the action. It's killing him that we are having to lay low at the moment." Miles explained. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"What will he do when all of this is over?" She interrupted Miles before he could finish.

"I was going to say that we would get more work done without him being here." He assured her that Bass not helping them was a good thing even if they were one or two men down. Miles also wanted Bass out of the house for another reason.

"Oh…" The blonde mumbled as she watched Bass and his son walk out the front door before getting back to work.

"Hey Mom, look at what I found!" Charlie exclaimed as she pulled a framed picture out of one of the many boxes. It was a picture of her and Danny with both of their parents. Charlie may not act like it, but she was truly grateful that she still had her mother.

"Rachel, do you know where your dad went?" Miles asked as he made his way towards the style="font-family: Arial;" /span"He's probably trying to repair and set up the part of the house that he uses for his practice." She shrugged. He nodded and made his way to the practice. He walked into a room to find Gene trying to set up the room.

"Need help?" Miles asked startling the older man. Gene was so focused on arranging the items in the medicine cabinet that he didn't hear Miles walk up behind him.

"Could you bring me those boxes over there?" He asked. Miles did as he was asked and started opening the box to see what was in it.

"Want me to start putting these on the shelf for you?" Gene shook his head.

"Read the labels and sort them first, I want to see what I have." Miles nodded and got to work sorting the bottles. Miles picked one up and looked at it carefully. He realized most of these were oils.

"Do these oils actually work?" He grabbed another bottle and put it with the others that were the same.

"They work better than some medicines." Gene explained as he put more of the sorted bottles on the shelf. "The pharmaceutical industry hates these oils for that reason. That is also why most doctors are against it as well." He added. Miles was now interested in what these oils were capable of.

"They are probably more useful now more than ever." Gene nodded in agreement. Without power there were no more factories to mass-produce medicines. Even before the blackout, Gene was familiar with the essential oils, herbs, and other natural remedies, and that there were many uses for them. He believed that the substances naturally occurring in nature were better than the synthetic versions made in labs.

"Depending on the substance, some of these bottles are more valuable than diamonds." Miles couldn't argue with that, especially now.

"How about keeping the bulk of the supplies in a different location. Keep what you need in here, and keep the rest somewhere safe." Gene hated to admit it, but Miles was actually right. Keeping the medical supplies all in one place would not be a good idea. If they were stolen Gene would lose everything.

"I'm open to any idea on where to store them. It has to be somewhere close by though." The doctor stated.

"Has anyone claimed the house next door or the one across the street from it?" Miles asked. He figured Bass and Connor could live in the house across from them. He, Rachel and Charlie would take the house next to Gene's. His house would have some of the supplies and Bass's would have some as well.

"Not that I know of." Gene replied. "Why do you ask?" The older man was curious as to why Miles was asking about the houses.

"I figured Rachel, Charlie, and I could live in one of them, and Bass and Connor could take the other. Your house would be less crowded, and we could hide the supplies in the other two houses." He explained his plan as he opened another box.

"That's actually not a bad idea." The older man agreed. The doctor liked that he was starting to see things the way he and Rachel did. Trying to keep innocent people out of the crossfire was another one of their goals.

"We could store the really important stuff in our house, and give Bass the less important stuff and the weapons to guard." Miles suggested. "Bass would take them down before they had time to figure out where the rest of the supplies are. By that time we would hear the commotion, and head that way to help take them down." He added.

"I will agree to this on one condition." The doctor proposed.

"I'm listening." Miles replied waiting for him to finish.

"I do not want Sebastian Monroe to be my next door neighbor!" Gene protested knowing that Miles was more than likely going to take the house next door to his anyways. He just wanted it to be known.

"You wont have to worry about that. Bass will be in the house across the street, not the one next door." Miles assured the older man. Rachel and Charlie must have heard the commotion from the other room.

"What's the problem?" Charlie asked as she burst through the door followed by her mother. Both men were confused. Gene then realized that they must have heard his little outburst from the other room and thought her and Miles were fighting.

"Everything is fine." The doctor spoke up. Rachel looked at Miles to make sure everything was okay. She hoped that the two men did not just get into an argument. Little did she know that it was the complete opposite or arguing. Miles and her father were actually coming up with a plan. The four of them finished setting up Gene's practice in no time. They put the extra supplies aside.

"Do you mind if I borrow Rachel for a while?" Miles asked Gene. The older man nodded. "I want to show her the house and explain the plan." He added.

"Go ahead. Charlie and I will finish unpacking the valuables that I hid away." The older man motioned for them to leave. The couple then made their way out of the house. Once they were out of the house Rachel spoke up.

"What was all of the commotion about a few minutes ago?" She wanted to know what happened before her and Charlie showed up. At first he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh, that." He laughed. "Don't worry, your father and I were not fighting." He assured her.

"Go on," She motioned for him to continue.

"Your father and I agreed that we should live close to him." Miles began. Rachel was shocked to hear this. Just a few months ago Miles and her father were at each other's throats disagreeing with everything the other said. Now here they are coming up with plans together. All this time she though they were only being civil for her and Charlie's sake.

"What was he yelling about then?" Miles laughed.

"He does not want Bass to be his next door neighbor, and he made that clear." She laughed at this. Rachel couldn't blame her father, she wouldn't want to live next door to him either.

"He won't be in the house next to ours, will he?" She asked.

"Don't worry, Bass and Connor will be in the house across the street." The blonde sighed in relief. They were still standing on the front porch. "Now lets go in and take a look at our new house!" Miles added as he opened the front door and pulled her in. The house had minor damage, it would only take a days work to repair. Other than that the inside was perfect and ready for them to inhabit.


	5. Outsides

Chapter 5: Outsides

Things finally settled down for everyone in Willoughby. Gene's practice was all set up and it was much easier for him to treat patients. Rachel and Charlie helped Gene out in any way that they could. Aaron became a teacher again. Bass and Connor were always at the gate or outside of the town walls stopping the patriots before they could cause harm. Miles was the sheriff of the town by day, and the general by night if it was necessary.

One day Bass and Connor saw two outsiders approaching the town wall. They got down from the top of the wall just as the newcomers arrived at the gate. It was a woman and her two children. Just as they were about to walk through the gate Bass spoke up startling them.

"Where do you think you are going?" Bass asked as he stopped them before they could get passed the guard. Bass had the guards point their weapons much to their dismay.

"Please sir, we mean no harm." The woman begged. "My daughter needs help, she was injured while trying to protect us from that group that calls themselves the patriots." The woman motioned to her other daughter that was lying in the back of the damaged wagon. This got Bass's attention really quickly.

"Connor, go get Gene, or one of the women." Bass said motioning for his son to hurry up. The woman sighed in relief. "Where did the patriots ambush you and your daughters?" Bass asked.

"We were in Dallas, but these men had recently occupied it. We noticed that people that were once friends were acting really odd." She explained. Bass knew exactly what she was talking about.

"We are going to get help for your daughter, but I would also like you to speak with the sheriff." Bass said as he motioned for them to follow him. "Jim, could you give me a hand with the injured girl?" Bass asked. They made their way to Gene's house where he and Charlie were waiting for them at the door.

"What happened?" The doctor asked.

"The patriots." Bass replied as they made their way through the door.

"What is your name?" Gene asked.

"I'm Cara, and these are my daughters." She replied introducing herself to the doctor. "This is my youngest daughter Ava, and that's Amanda." She said pointing to her other daughter that Charlie was tending to.

"Nice to meet you and welcome to Willoughby." Gene shook her hand.

"Have you seen Miles?" Bass asked the doctor. The doctor shook his head.

"My bet is that he is still at home. Rachel hasn't shown up today so he is probably with her." Bass laughed. He was definitely going to leave Cara with Gene and Charlie while he went over to get Miles. This wouldn't be the first time that Bass had bad timing. He made his way out of the house and walked over to the house next door. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

"Bass, what brings you here?" Miles asked shocked that Bass was on his doorstep. "Aren't you and Connor supposed to be watching the wall?" He added.

"We were until someone came up to the gate asking for help." Bass spoke.

"And this is important, why?" Miles asked as he looked back into the house towards Rachel who was lying on the couch.

"This woman and her two daughters were running from the patriots. One of her daughters was injured trying to help them escape, and Gene and Charlie are tending to her as we speak." Bass explained. Miles could not believe it.

"Rach, I have to go see what's going on next door, will you be okay?" Miles asked. The blonde nodded and took a sip of water before lying back down.

"I'll be fine, Miles." Rachel urged him to go see what Bass wanted. She wasn't up for company, and Bass was the last person she wanted to see. Miles closed the door and followed Bass next door.

"What's wrong with her?" Bass joked.

"She fainted right as she was about to leave to go help Gene at the practice." Miles replied. Bass felt horrible. He though Miles was joking, and that sick day mean them staying in bed all day.

"You might want to mention it to the doctor after we deal with this woman and her daughters." Bass suggested feeling bad for sounding insensitive. Miles knew Rachel would not be happy about that. Both men enter the house to find Gene and Charlie getting to know the newcomers better.

"Cara, I would like you to meet the sheriff of this town." Bass made their presence known.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Miles." Miles introduced himself. "So Bass told me you and your daughters had a run in with the patriots. Is this true?" He asked. The woman nodded and motioned to her older daughter. Miles figured that she was pointing to the girls injured arm that was now in a sling.

"We were in Dallas, but tried to leave once they took over. Your friend informed me that the people that took over were also patriots." Cara explained. "As we were making our way out of Dallas we were attacked. My daughter Amanda got hit trying to protect me and Ava." She continued.

"Thank you." Miles said. "We are trying to get rid of them and prevent a war from happening if we can. General Blanchard and ourselves have a plan to have them gone before the next year." He continued. He originally thought that they could have the patriots gone by summer, but it seems that it's going to take longer than that.

"Could we stay in your town, sir?" The woman asked. "We don't have anywhere else to go." She explained.

"Of course you can." Miles said. "Welcome to Willoughby. This is probably the safest town to be in right now." He added. Bass chuckled and Gene rolled his eyes. He knew where this was about to go. He spoke up before either of them could say anything that could possibly scare the woman.

"Texas now has Sebastian Monroe and Miles Matheson on their side." The doctor spoke up. He then explained that most of the people in the town stay within the gates.

"You heard that Ava, you must stay within the town walls. Please don't go off exploring. The people outside of these walls could be like those guys that were coming after us." Cara stressed the importance of this to the girl.

"Are there any other girls my age in this town?" She asked. Charlie couldn't help but smile. Willoughby had come a long way. Ever since they drove out all of the patriots the down has become much better than what it had been in the previous years.

"Yes there are plenty of kids your age. In fact my friend Aaron is the teacher." Charlie spoke up. "If it is okay with your mother, I can show you around town while they continue talking." Charlie looked up to see if that was okay with Cara. The woman nodded letting Charlie it was okay to show the girls around town. She got them out of the house while the rest of them discussed the issue with the Patriots.

"So where do we start?" Miles asked.

"We could start by increasing security knowing that those guys are close than we thought." Gene replied looking in Bass's direction.

"I could order more men to patrol the gates on all sides, especially at night now." Bass implied that the patriots could be keeping a low profile during the day and striking at night. They were clever, but Miles and Bass were a step ahead because they have done that before. "Could we have a minute?" Bass asked as he pulled Miles aside in another room.

"What is it?" Miles asked confused as to why Bass pulled him aside.

"I didn't want to say this in front of our guest, but we can't let everyone through that gate. We may chance patriots getting in." Bass argued his point hoping that Miles would side with him for once.

"Who makes the decisions that deal with the safety of this town?" Miles asked. "The sheriff does, oh wait that's me!" He added. It was probably better for Willoughby that Frank Blanchard appointed Miles as sheriff instead of Bass.

"Think about it, Miles. Anyone can pose as innocent people trying to get in." Miles was not agreeing to this.

"Innocent people, including children could die if we don't offer help to those in need." Before Miles could finish giving his reason for disagreeing, Bass made a jab at Rachel. This infuriated Miles.

"I thought Rachel was passed out on the couch next door?" Bass scoffed. "It starting to sound like she makes all of the decisions these days, including yours." He added.

"Leave her out of this!" He warned Bass before things got out of hand.

"Okay fine, but is this what you truly want?" He asked. Miles felt bad for all of the terrible things he had done in the past. He could not change what he had already done, but he could make up for it by helping innocent people rather than letting them die.

"It is." He answered hoping that Monroe would not argue with him anymore.

"You've got to be kidding me. What happened to you brother?" Bass asked wondering what happened to the old Miles. Miles was remorseful for all that he had done.

"I regret it Bass." He admitted. "I feel like a lot of the deaths were our fault. I cannot bring all of those people back, but I can try to save the ones who are still alive. If I can help someone I will do what I can." He finished.

"I get it you regret what we did back when the republic was still going strong." Miles shook his head. It was more than just that. He also did awful things to people that he loves.

"The only people who are staying outside of these town wall are the patriots." He stated. "Anyone trying to seek shelter after running from them will be allowed in. Willoughby will be a safe haven for the victims. We will all come together and take them down." He finished. Bass now understood what Miles was trying to do. By letting innocent people in they would increase their numbers. More people meant more help. That would mean that they could eliminate the patriots quicker. This was when Sebastian Monroe realized that Miles was one step ahead of him.

"Got it boss." Bass replied. He could not think of anything else to say.


	6. Hours

**Chapter 6: Hours**

"Rachel, you will make yourself even more sick worrying about them." Gene stated. Rachel stood up and rolled her eyes at her father. Miles, Charlie, Bass and Connor went outside of the town's gate to inspect the area. A few days after Cara had shown up others started heading this way.

"I can't help but worry, Dad." Rachel argued. "Besides you, Charlie and Miles are all I have left." Gene nodded. He couldn't argue because she was right, but he Miles agreed that it would be better for her to stay behind this time. She had feinted again the day before.

"I know, Rachel." Gene sympathized with her. He and Miles both agreed that she was in no condition to fight off any patriots if they approached them.

"I won't be able to live with myself is something happens to Charlie." She murmured. She felt the same about Miles as well. There was still something that she wanted to tell him, but never did. It broke the doctor's heart to see his daughter so distraught over something that was out of her control. Charlie went with the guys despite her mother and grandfather begging her not to go. She wanted to help out because she wanted to make up for her brother's death.

"Rachel, you and I both know that Miles will do anything to keep her safe." The doctor stated. "He treats her as if she is his daughter rather than his niece." He added.

"She is his daughter!" The blonde sputtered. This left the doctor speechless. "Neither of them knows this." She added. Gene was still trying to figure out how that was possible.

"Are you sure?" Rachel nodded. Gene was still confused.

"I found out I was pregnant shortly before Ben and I's wedding." She explained. She left out how she told Miles that she would leave Ben if he said he loved her.

"Did Ben know?" Rachel shook her head.

"Before you ask," She spoke up. "this happened when Ben and I took a break after that first argument." She defended herself before Gene could jump to any conclusions.

"I wasn't going to." Rachel sighed in relief. She really didn't want to have to talk about it. Gene knew when to back off. He also knew when to reach out to her, and now was one of those times.

"Please don't say anything to anyone." Rachel pleaded hoping her father would keep that to himself.

"Your secret is safe with me." She smiled as she sat back down before she fell. "It's not my place to tell them anything." He added.

"I will tell them eventually, just not right now." She said as she leaned against the cushion on the couch. Gene went into doctor mode and spoke up.

"You should eat something before you nap, Rachel. You haven't eaten anything all day. Maybe that is your issue." He suggested hoping she would eat something before going to sleep. Rachel reluctantly obliged to the doctors request. There was a knock on the door right as he was headed outside to try and cook some eggs. They were fortunate enough to have chickens in the area. They didn't cook some of them so they could have eggs.

"Amanda, come in." The doctor said as he answered the door. "This shouldn't take too long if your wound is healing well." He added. He took the sling off and unwrapped the girl's arm. Rachel got up to see who was at the door and found Gene helping someone.

"What do you need?" Rachel asked the doctor.

"Could you get me some lavender oil?" He asked. She nodded and made her way to the cabinet that had all of the oils. She mixed the lavender oil with coconut oil so it would spread easier. He thanked her and asked her to hold the girls arm while he cleaned it.

"This shouldn't hurt too much." She dabbed the cloth in the concoction she had just made. She handed it to the doctor.

"Thank you so much." The girl said to the doctor and his daughter. Amanda reminded Rachel of Charlie and Danny in a way. Charlie would fight to protect those close to her even if she got injured doing so. This also reminded her that they were still out there. She hoped that they were all safe and on their way back.

"Anytime." The doctor walked her to the door before walking out of the house himself. She took the opportunity to take a nap. She was extremely tired from fatigue. As he was grabbing a crossbow he noticed that Rachel was passed out on the couch. He put the crossbow down and made his way upstairs to grab a light blanket. As he placed the blanket over her sleeping form he glanced at her once more before leaving the house for a few minutes to cook. He knew she would be safe.

"Is there anything I can do to help you, doctor?" Cara asked as he passed her on his way out.

"Please, call me Gene." He insisted. He was the only doctor in the community, but he didn't see himself as different from anyone else. He asked if she would check on Rachel occasionally in case she woke up before he got back. He offered her dinner in return.

As he was heading back after not being able to spot any animals he noticed that Miles was making his way back to the house. Gene walked back home to find Rachel still sleeping on the couch. He saw Miles placing a kiss on her forehead. Miles was startled when he heard someone enter the room. He sighed when he saw that it was the doctor.

"How is she?" He asked.

"Exhausted." Miles sighed and raked his hands through his hair.

"I told her we would only be gone a few hours, and that we didn't expect to run into any trouble." The doctor laughed.

"Nothing you said would have made a difference. She's stubborn." Gene laughed not mentioning that she takes after him in that way. "I think part of her problem is that she worries herself sick over things she cannot control." He added.

"I try to tell her some things are beyond our control." Miles stressed. "I also think she's not eating enough, which would explain some of her symptoms as well." The younger man added.

"I wasn't able to find anything. I went out to see if I could catch something. We cannot live off of the fruits and vegetables we get from trading with Austin." The doctor admitted. Miles reassured him that they would be okay.

"That's not going to be an issue, Gene. While we were out making sure the area was safe we stumbled upon a lake. We caught some fish while we were out. This is why it took us a little bit longer than expected to get back." Miles explained. Gene was pleased to hear this.

"So now we have a way of getting protein that doesn't involve killing the chickens we have?" Gene asked not believing what he just heard. Miles nodded.

"Yep. We could send a group out to the lake to supply everyone with a source of protein." Miles suggested. "It would give Connor something to do." Miles added. He knew Gene didn't care much for Connor because he was chasing after Charlie. He didn't like the idea of them being together either.

"I like your thinking." Gene laughed because he knew exactly what Miles was thinking. Charlie approached the two men scaring both of them.

"Is she okay?" Charlie asked as she glanced over to the couch where her mother was still asleep. The doctor nodded.

"She should be fine when she wakes up. As I told Miles, please make sure she eats. I think that is part of her problem." Gene explained to his granddaughter. She was relied to hear that.

"Want me to make dinner?" Gene asked. Mile was glad that he asked. He and Charlie needed rest after their long day.

"I left some in the kitchen for you." He replied motioning towards the kitchen. "Bass had already cleaned them so all you have to do is cook it." Miles added.

"Charlie, could you walk over to Cara's and let them know that dinner should be ready shortly." Gene asked. "I told her that she and the girls could come over for dinner." He added. Charlie took off headed to Cara's house which was the one next door to Monroe's which was across the street from Gene's. The older man left and went into the kitchen. Miles gently stroked Rachel's blonde hair and tucked it behind her ear and joined Gene in the kitchen.

"Do you need help with anything?" Miles offered as he sat in one of the chairs at the table. The doctor shook his head. Miles occasionally peered into the other room to see if Rachel had stirred.

"She's still sleeping?" Miles nodded. Gene had just finished preparing the last batch of fish. All that was left to do was put them over the fire to cook them. That did not take the doctor long at all. Miles had grabbed some plates out of the cabinet. He went back into the other room to wake her up for dinner.

"Rachel," Miles tapped her as he got down next to her. "it's time to wake up." He tapped her again. She stirred, slowly opening her eyes. It took her a few minutes to completely wake up and process everything.

"Miles?" She yawned as she sat up.

"I'm here." He replied as he pulled her close. "Charlie and I made it back safely." He added reassuring her that everything was fine now.

"How long was I asleep?" She asked still trying to wake up.

"We were only gone for a few hours. We left in the middle of the day, and came back with fish for dinner." He explained hoping that she had forgotten that they were originally going search for patriots in the area. Fortunately there were none.

"Really, it felt like it was a lot longer than that?" Miles chuckled.

"That's probably because you were sleeping, sweetheart." She laughed. She really needed the rest. "I hope you are hungry because we caught a decent amount of fish." He urged her to go get some food.


	7. Days

**Chapter 7: Days**

Things had gotten better for Willoughby since Miles and Bass had discovered the lake. They now had another source for fresh water and food. Willoughby was now able to offer more in trades, which also paid off.

"We should send Connor to Austin to trade some fish for more chickens." Gene suggested. Miles agreed with him. Both men wanted to keep him away from Charlie.

"Bass isn't here to object to the idea." Miles added. Frank Blanchard stopped by the day before. He wanted either Miles or Bass and some troops so they could take Dallas back from the patriots. Bass volunteered to go in a heartbeat. He would do anything to get back into the action.

"Let's do it!" the doctor agreed. Neither of them noticed Rachel enter the kitchen. She was standing in the doorway the entire time and heard the entire conversation.

"You two are terrible." Rachel laughed. She didn't like the idea that Sebastian Monroe's son was trying to get with Charlie. Little did any of them know that their statements now would come back to haunt them later.

"She is so sleeping with him." Gene reminded them. Miles gave Gene a confused look. Rachel knew exactly what he was about to say and rolled her eyes. She did not want to be reminded of her younger days. She did some things that she was not proud of back then.

"And you know this how?" Rachel put her face in her palms to hide her embarrassment.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Gene said as he glanced at his daughter who was silent. "Someone was just like that when they were a teenager too." He added.

"I'm sure it would be different if we never would have lost power." She snapped at them trying to hold back the tears. Miles noticed this and tried to assure her that none of what happened is completely her fault. She had no clue that Randall Flynn would use her and Ben's invention for awful things. Rachel was just a mother trying to do anything to help her child.

"Rachel," The blonde looked up at her lover. "don't be so hard on yourself." He begged. He hated it when she beat herself up over things that she could not control.

"I failed Danny, and now I have failed Charlie. I'm not the best example and I was absent for most of their lives. Miles, I am an awful mother, Miles." Rachel stammered as she tried to put the thought of failing her children in the back of her mind. She was going to ask Gene something important when she walked in on their conversation. She was going to wait for Miles to go before she did.

"You aren't an awful mother, Rachel. I think you are one of the best." Her lover argued. "Not many people are strong like you. You did whatever you needed to keep Danny alive. You also never give up on them. None of that seems awful to me." He argued trying to get her to see that she wasn't terrible at all.

"You set a better example for Charlie than I ever did." She admitted. She was trying her damned hardest to make up for all of the years that she was missing in her daughter's life. "She probably hates me for not being around most of her life." She murmured.

"She does not." Miles was baffled that she would say something like that after what he witnessed. "She was worried about you the other day when you feinted. She also asks me to take care you whenever we go somewhere without her." He added trying to prove his point. She started crying after hearing this.

"Really?" She still didn't believe it. He nodded reassuring her that her daughter did not hate her. She was starting to feel dizzy again so she sat down in one of the chairs at the table. She saw there was a bowl with fruit in it and grabbed an orange and started peeling it.

"Everyone shows love in different ways." Her father reminded her. She nodded as she continued peeling the orange. She figured eating might help her feel better. Miles saw this as a way to leave and it not seem awkward. He gave kissed the blonde and told her to take it easy before leaving to go tend to the rest of Willoughby. He had more work to do since Bass was out.

"Sorry for that." Rachel apologized for her little emotional breakdown. Gene shook his head. Rachel had gotten much better since they came to Willoughby, but sometimes she still had her moments.

"No need to be sorry." He replied as he joined her at the table.

"I just feel bad for always snapping or breaking down these days." She admitted as she took another bite. The doctor shrugged he figured everyone has their bad days.

"What brings you over here anyway?" Gene asked. He had told her to stay home and take it easy for a few days. What Rachel needed was a few different medicines.

"I was wondering if you could make me something to help soothe and upset stomach, another to soothe aches and pains, and something to help with sleep." She asked hoping he wouldn't question her about it.

"I can mix it when I'm not seeing any patients. I can bring it to your house later if you want." The doctor assured the blonde that she would have what she needed later today. Rachel was pretty sure she knew the cause of it all but wanted to be sure before she said anything. The symptoms were there, the sore breasts, the fatigue, the sickness, and the most obvious, the missed cycle. She didn't want to get her hopes up incase she was wrong.

"Thank you, dad." Rachel said as she grabbed another piece of fruit before making her way to the door. Gene couldn't help but laugh at this.

"You know, you can just take the whole bowl." Gene offered holding out the rest of the fruit to the blonde. Rachel gladly accepted the food. "Does Miles not keep food in the house?" Gene laughed. Rachel came to his defense. It wasn't that Miles didn't keep food in the house, she has been eating most of it lately.

"He does." The doctor was not convinced that the sheriff was keeping enough food in the house for his family. "It's just that I have been eating it all lately." Rachel went on explaining how her appetite has increased. They were lucky to have as much food as they did.

"Well I'm glad." He walked with her to the door. "We don't want you feinting again." He reminded her of the events that took place a few days ago. He knew exactly what it was too, but he wasn't going to say anything until she did.

Once home, Rachel went upstairs to the bedroom that she and Miles shared. She changed into more comfortable clothing since she was not planning on going anywhere. She fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow. Rachel didn't even wake up to her daughter calling out to her from downstairs.

Gene had cooked a mid day meal, and sent Charlie next door to bring her mother some. She placed it on the table and went upstairs to find a sleeping Rachel. She grabbed a blanket that was near by and covered her before going back next-door to help her grandfather.

"She was asleep when I walked in so I left the food on the table." Charlie spoke as she went back inside. The doctor nodded as he continued his work. They didn't have anyone that they needed to treat, so Gene started making the medicines that Rachel had asked for earlier.

"Well, hopefully the medicines I'm making will help her sleep better." The doctor said as he put a few drops of oil in a bottle and put it to the side. He then started smashing up some herbs.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Charlie asked wanting to help out with something. Gene motioned for her to come help him make the medicines.

Back in the house next door, Rachel was still asleep when Miles came home. He left early to make sure she was okay. When he saw no one was on the couch he went straight upstairs to their bedroom. He took off his boots and joined her, but he did not go to sleep. He was just taking in the sight before him. She still looked as beautiful to him as the day she did when they first met. Miles was done running he wanted to end this war with the patriots so he could spend the rest of his days with Rachel.

"Time to wake up, Rachel." She stirred as he ran his fingers through her hair. "You can't sleep all day, or won't want to sleep tonight." He tried reasoning with her to get up. She rolled over on her side to face him and slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Miles." She finally spoke and was now fully awake. She sat up and was about to get up to go get some food.

"Where are you going?" He asked disappointed that she was walking off. Rachel was hungry it had been a while since she had eaten that fruit for breakfast.

"I'm starved, I haven't eaten anything since I had that fruit for breakfast at Dad's house." She replied as she made her way downstairs. When she got to the kitchen she noticed that someone had brought her some food. She figured it was her father and would thank him later for that. Miles joined her in the kitchen as she ate. "Want some?" She asked him before she ate it all.

"I'm good, you eat." He replied as he looked out the window. He noticed Gene and Charlie walking towards the house so he got up and opened the door to let them in.

"I see you found the plate I made you for lunch." Gene laughed noticing that she had just finished as they walked in.

"Thank you for that." She thanked him as she got up to greet them.

"No problem." The doctor replied. "I have the medicines you asked for and I have a few extra things for you." He added as he put the stuff on the table. He explained which medicine did what. He also explained the herbal supplements that he made for her as well.

Charlie left not long after and Gene stayed and talked with them for a bit before leaving himself. After Charlie and Gene left, Miles sat on the couch next to Rachel who leaning against the arm of the couch. He moved her to where she was using him as a pillow rather than the arm of the couch.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked noticing that something was on her mind. She decided that she might as well tell him even if it may not actually happen. She knew that if she was indeed pregnant complications could arise due to her age.

"I hope our baby is healthy and doesn't have any birth defects." She spoke as she looked to see his reaction. He looked at her confused.

"Our baby?" He repeated making sure he heard that correctly. She nodded happily trying to gauge his reaction before she said anything else. What he did next surprised her. He looked down at her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He then lifted up her loose blouse exposing her abdomen and placed a gentle kiss on it too.

"I cannot wait to spend the rest of my days with you and our little one after we get rid of the patriots." Miles said as he protectively placed a hand over her abdomen where their child was. Like Rachel, he viewed this as a new stat for the both of them. Miles was pretty sure her father already knew since he gave her all kinds of supplements along with the medicines she had asked for. They decided to wait a few days before telling Charlie because they weren't sure how she was going to take it. All that mattered right now was their happy little family, everyone else's opinions would not change how they felt about the situation.


	8. Weeks

**Chapter 8: Weeks**

It had been two weeks since Bass had gone to Dallas to deal with the patriots. Everyone seemed to be worried that something had happened to him. Rachel was the only on that seemed unconcerned about him taking longer than expected. She was actually grateful that Bass had volunteered to go because that meant Miles got to stay in Willoughby with her and Charlie.

Even though Rachel had been through it twice, she felt like a first-time mom all over again. It had been eighteen years since she had gone this. This was technically Miles's first child since he had no clue that Charlie is actually his daughter. Miles was already doing everything he could to help. Rachel wished he would hold back and save that for when she was in her second and third trimester, but she was glad that he wanted to be part of it.

What Miles did not know was that morning sickness could strike at any time of the day. He came in one evening and couldn't find Rachel, but the sounds coming from the bathroom let him know where she was. He walked up behind her and held her hair back until she was done.

"Thank you" She finally spoke as he helped her up.

"Are you going to be okay?" Rachel laughed at the fact that he was already freaking out. He was genuinely worried about her.

"I will be fine." She chuckled realizing that she would have to be patient with him. This was his first time experiencing this. "I was never this sick with Charlie or Danny though." She admitted noticing that she has been sick more this time around than with her previous two pregnancies.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Rachel shook her head and explained that the sickness should subside by fourteen weeks.

There was no way of telling how far along she actually was post blackout. Fortunately they know what day it is thanks to an old calendar that they used to keep tract of the days, months and even years. They could only guess based on dates. It was kind of awkward for Rachel to discuss her sex life with her own father, but he was the only doctor around. He told her from the information she gave him that she was due mid to late December if she made it to term.

"How far along are you now?" He asked truly curious about what was going on. Rachel was glad that he actually wanted to know. She already knew that Miles would be a good father, but his concern convinced her even more.

"I was told anywhere from four to six weeks from the dates that I told him." Rachel explained filling him in on what all was going on. "Dad thinks I'm further along based on size though." She added. Miles looked at her confused as to what she was talking about. She didn't look any different to him. Rachel noticed this right away and lifted her shirt up to show him. She turned to the side, and that's when he noticed that she was slightly bigger, but not really enough to notice right away. She sat down in the reclining chair and reclined it all the way back not caring that her shirt was still lifted

He leaned over kissed her on the forehead and placed one hand protectively over their child. He also noticed a few scars and traced his fingers over them. He knew one of them was from when Andover's men had barged into Willoughby and attacked everyone. He then pulled her shirt back down so it covered her exposed abdomen.

"I know they look horrible." She spoke up noticing that he was looking down at her scars. He shook his head.

"Actually they make you even more beautiful, princess." She blushed. He always knew how to make her feel better. He was right, they were beautiful because they showed that she was a survivor.

"I'm sorry I didn't have anything prepared for you when you got home." She replied as she motioned towards the kitchen.

"Don't feel bad, you weren't feeling well. You should be taking it easy like your dad said." He urged her to stay in her chair while he got something for her to eat. She shook her head. She explained that food might not be a good idea right now.

Gene stopped by to come check on her and to bring her food. He usually did this not knowing if Miles would be out late or not. He nodded when he saw Miles was home. He placed the plate down on the coffee table so Rachel could have something. Miles had informed him of the fact that she had emptied the contents of her stomach not too long ago.

"You need to eat something." The doctor urged her to eat, even if it wasn't much. She nodded as she sat up and began picking at what was on the plate. Gene and Miles went off into the kitchen to talk more.

"Is there any medicine that you could make for her?" Miles pleaded with the doctor hoping that he could. Gene shook his head. He felt for Miles because he felt the same way when his wife was pregnant with Rachel. The thought of it made him miss Charlotte dearly.

"I made her stuff that helps with the symptoms, but there isn't anything that will make it go away." Gene explained. Both of them hoped that it would go away soon. "What she needs is to take it easy and rest. Stress isn't good for her or the baby." He added. Miles agreed with this and was trying hard to get her to do so, but Rachel was stubborn.

"I've been trying to tell her that, but your daughter is so stubborn sometimes." Gene laughed. He couldn't disagree with Miles on that.

Charlie came through the door minutes later announcing that Bass has returned safely. Everyone was glad to hear that he had returned safely with only minor injuries. Even Rachel was glad that he came back. If something were to happen to him, Miles would be the one leaving to go help the general.

"Bass said that he would fill us in on what happened tomorrow." Charlie informed them as she sat down on the couch. Charlie noticed her mother was drifting in and out of sleep.

"Mom, do you need anything?" Charlie asked a getting a little worried about her mother. Rachel nodded weakly.

"Could you get me some water." Charlie nodded as she got up and walked into the kitchen to get the water for Rachel. Miles and Gene were sitting at the table eating. As she was getting the water for her mother she had asked them if Rachel would be okay.

"You mom will be fine if she takes it easy." Gene began. "You and I both know that she's not going to sit around all day." He added. Charlie knew he was right. Once Rachel had an idea in her head there was no stopping her from going through with it. She then grabbed the glass of water and brought it to Rachel.

She noticed that her mother fell back asleep so she tapped her to let her know that her water was in the little table next to the chair.

"Mom, here's the water you asked for." Rachel nodded as she sat up in the chair. She finished the glass in a few sips and placed the empty glass back on the little table. Charlie suggested that she should go lay down in her bed because it would be more comfortable. Rachel reluctantly agreed and got up from the chair and headed up the stairs to her bed.

The next day came around and they were waiting for Bass to show up so he could fill them in on what went down in Dallas. Gene had both his daughter and granddaughter helping him. Miles was out doing his daily rounds. Connor had taken his father's spot for the day so he could rest.

There was a knock on the door. Gene opened it and greeted Monroe. He noticed that he had some minor injuries that he could patch up for him. He offered to do so after inviting Bass inside.

"I can patch those up for you now so they don't get infected." Gene offered motioning to gashes in Bass's hand and arm. The younger man nodded and thanked the doctor.

"Thank you." Bass spoke as Gene lead him to the area of the house that was used for treating patients.

"No problem." He replied as he started looking at Bass's injuries. "Rachel, Charlie, could one of you come help me clean these cuts?" He called out hoping one of them would hear him. Rachel came into the room still drinking a glass of water she had fixed and Charlie came in seconds behind her.

"What do you need, Dad?" Rachel asked as she put her glass down and walked over to the cabinet where he kept his supplies. Gene motioned to Bass's arm letting them know it was just to clean the injuries.

"Just get some alcohol to clean it. Charlie could you use the lavender and make an ointment so it doesn't get infected?" He ordered as he continued his work. One of the gashes looked like it may need stitches. He asked Rachel to grab them just in case they were needed.

"How was Dallas?" She asked trying to distract him from the pain of his injuries being cleaned. He was surprised that she was the one cleaning his cut and not Charlie. He figured Rachel would want to avoid him if she could.

"A victory for the rebels" He cheered as he winced in pain as the alcohol came in contact with one of the cuts on his hand. Rachel felt bad, but she knew it had to be cleaned or it would get infected.

"What took you so long? We were worried that something bad had happened." Charlie asked as she brought the lavender ointment over to help clean the wounds. She stopped what she was doing for a second to listen to what he had to say. Gene and Rachel did the same because they wanted to know what was going on as well. Just as Bass was about to tell them what happened, Miles walks in. He called out to them and didn't get an answer. So he went to the back thinking they were helping someone.

"What did I miss?" Miles asked as he noticed that they were treating the cuts on Monroe's arm.

"Nothing yet. I was just about to fill everyone in on what went down in Dallas." Bass began. "By the way Miles, the rebels won this one." He added before Miles could ask.

"Good to know now go on." Miles motioned for him to continue. Miles was going to go back to work training the people in the town, but he decided they could use a break.

"So first I helped Frank invade Dallas and we take out the patriots there." Bass began as Charlie finished cleaning the gash on his arm. Rachel came behind her with bandages. "After that the general had me search the city for Ed Truman or anyone that looked like him for that matter." He added as he waited for Rachel to finish bandaging part of his arm.

"So Frank isn't going to stop until he catches Truman?" She asked as she finished bandaging his arm and began trying to clean the cuts on his hand. Miles knew that Truman was probably long gone and no longer in Texas.

"I hate to be the one to bring bad news, but Truman is long gone." Miles stated the obvious hoping Bass already knew that. Fortunately Bass was well aware of the fact that Truman was long gone.

"I knew that, but Frank is so hell bent on getting revenge. He told me to continue looking after I told him that there was a possibility of him not being in Texas anymore." Bass explained. Miles sighed knowing that reasoning with him was probably a lost cause. He also told Monroe to go along with the general's plan.

"We don't want to become enemies, so just do as he says." Bass rolled his eyes.

"Fine, but I'm not wasting my strength or sacrificing our people for his revenge on Truman." Rachel gasped not believing that Sebastian Monroe actually wanted to prevent more casualties. "I figured that once Texas is patriot free we don't have to worry about the patriots anymore." He added.

"Exactly, so go along with his plan until that happens." Miles stressed the importance of keeping Frank Blanchard on their side. They now had a plant that seemed to be a good one so far. "So, do you want to help me train the people of Willoughby?" He asked.

"What for?" Bass asked confused as to what Miles wanted. Miles wanted the people to be prepared for anything. It would be awhile before they completely whipped out all of the patriots in Texas. He didn't want to just train people to go off and fight. He also wanted the people that stayed back to be able to defend themselves and their families.

"I want everyone to be prepared." Miles urged him to help with the training.

"You should do it!" Charlie assured him that it would be worth it in the end.

"Fine, I'm in! When do we start, boss?" He asked as they finished patching up his injuries.

"We can start tomorrow. The quicker we train them the stronger we become. Charlie, Rachel and Gene offered to help in any way that they could as well.


	9. Months

**Chapter 9: Months**

It was now late June and they were still trying to take down the patriots. Summer wasn't over yet, so there was still a possibility of them having Texas cleared before summer was over. Miles and Bass had made a lot of progress with training the people of Willoughby in just two months. They still had some work to do, but Miles thought the people were now better prepared.

"If you want, I can take over from here." Bass offered to alternate with Miles so he wasn't working every day. It's not like they were getting paid.

"Are you sure?" Miles asked shocked that Bass was offering to relieve him. Miles had noticed that Bass has changed over the past few months. It was a good change, and others were noticing this as well.

"Go spend time with Rachel." He urged Miles to spend more time with her. "Spend time with your family because we are never guaranteed tomorrow." He added trying to hold back the tears from painful memories. Miles knew exactly why he was telling him this. Ever since Bass found out that Miles and Rachel were expecting it reminded him of Shelly.

"Thanks." Miles put a hand over his best friends shoulder and told him that it was okay to miss them. "You know it's okay to miss them." Miles reminded him. Bass would have had two children had Shelly and their child lived. It seemed as if Bass lost everyone close to him, and that is what made him cold and harsh.

"No Miles, thank you." Bass was truly grateful to have Miles in his life, and for the fact that he never abandoned him. Miles didn't even have to ask him what he was thanking him for.

"Bass you like a brother to me." Miles stated as he motioned for him to come with him and rest for a bit. "I'm here for you." He reminded his best friend as he invited him in. Just as Miles opens the door, Rachel greets him.

"You're home early." She said as she pulled him closer for a kiss. Miles nodded as he motioned towards Bass who was behind him.

"Bass has agreed to alternate with me so I can spend more time with you." Miles explained as they walk in.

"Thank you, Bass. You don't know how much this means to me." She spoke up as she sat back down in her chair. Bass actually did because he once had someone that he truly cared for.

"No problem." She was shocked that Bass was doing this for them. It wasn't like Bass to do something like this. Little did she know that she reminded him of Shelly. Her death and their child's was the straw that broke the camel's back. Bass had lost his entire family at that point and went downhill from there. Rachel could tell by the tone of his voice that something was bothering him.

"Does anyone want a glass of water?" The blonde asked as she struggled to get up out of her chair. Miles put a hand up to stop her, but she was already up and walking towards the kitchen. She came back with a glass full of water.

"Rach, I could have gotten that for you." She shook her head.

"I'm fine, Miles." She stressed that getting up and moving around a little bit would actually be good for her. "It will be a different story in four months. Right now I can still move." She laughed remembering how hard it was to get around towards the end of her previous pregnancies. She hoped that this one would continue to go smoothly. She suddenly gasped and put her hand over her growing abdomen.

"Rachel, are you okay? What's wrong?" He panicked when saw her suddenly grab her middle. She nodded.

"I'm fine, Miles." She reassured him that everything was going to be okay. "Our child decided to make his or her presence known." She laughed and explained that it had been awhile since she had felt that, and that it had shocked her. She grabbed his hand and put it where she felt the movement. Unfortunately Miles wasn't able to feel anything. She told him that he might be able to feel the movement in another two weeks.

"She won't break, Miles." Bass laughed as he got up. Miles may act tough but those that truly know him would say differently. It cracked Bass up that Miles was panicking over Rachel. He could only imagine how Miles would freak out once the child was actually here. "Save the panicking for later." He added causing Rachel to laugh too.

"Bass, go easy on poor Miles." Rachel reminded him that this was new to him.

"Fine." He sighed pretending to be defeated. He was about to leave to go make his rounds. "I actually have work to go do." He added as he made his way to the door.

"Bye, Bass." Miles said as he walked him to the door.

"See you later." He replied as he walked out. "Enjoy your break and take care of them!" He shouted as he was walking away from the house. He still remembers losing his girlfriend and child, and he wouldn't even wish that on his worst enemy. He was truly happy for Miles. Rachel had asked Miles about Bass's sudden change. He filled her in on the fact the two of them reminded Bass of him and Shelly. He explained that Bass became who he was now after he lost his lover and child.

Rachel now saw Sebastian Monroe differently that what she did before. She now understood why he was they way he was. He was cold and heartless because it seemed that everyone he loved was taken away from him. Rachel actually felt sorry for him, but she still didn't forgive him for what he had done to her. It may take years for her to get over all of the terrible things that he had done, but for now she felt for him.

Charlie was next door helping Gene. She had learned a lot from him over the past few months. Since it wasn't busy, Gene told Charlie she could go. Charlie gladly took her grandfather up on that offer. She figured she would stop by the house before going out to find Connor.

"Are you going back to the house?" Gene managed to ask Charlie before she walked out of the door. She nodded and mentioned that she was going to rest a bit and before meeting Connor later.

"I have a date to get ready for." She joked.

"Could you tell your mother that I will stop by later, or she could come here if that's easier for her." Gene asked hoping that his daughter would remember that he was going to check on her and the baby today. Charlie assured him that she will giver her mother his messaged.

Charlie walked made her way over to the house next door. She walked back out as quickly as she had walked in. When she opened the door she noticed that Miles and her mother's clothing was littered throughout the house making a trail all the way up the stairs. The obscene noises coming from upstairs confirmed what she already knew. Before leaving she quietly left her mother a note on the table giving her Gene's message.

As she is walking away from the house still mortified from what she had walked into she ran into Bass. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going she just wanted to get out of the house.

"Watch where you are going please, Charlotte." Bass said as put a hand over where she had bumped him. She apologized. "What's the rush anyways?" He asked.

"I was going to rest up a bit before meeting Connor later, but " She began thinking of how to word what she was about to say. She really didn't want to think about what she had walked into minutes ago. "let's just say it was too noisy." She finished causing Bass to laugh. "What's so funny?" She snapped because she did not think this was funny at all.

"I told Miles to take the rest of the day off, and that I would alternate days with him." Bass began. "I told him go home and take care of your mother. Not exactly what I meant by that." He laughed and Charlie put her face in her palms and sighed.

"I should go and give Grandpa a heads up before he shows up and is scared for life like I am." She mumbled as she was about to head back to her grandfather's house.

"That would be nice of you." He laughed at the though of Gene walking into Miles and Rachel's house. "If you want, you can come rest at my place." He offered her a quiet place to rest. "It's quiet." He added causing her to laugh.

"I will take you up on that after I save my Grandpa." She chuckled as she made her way back to the doctor's house. Charlie figured that would be the nice thing to do.

Gene heeded Charlie's warning and showed up later rather than sooner. By that time it was safe to enter the house. In fact they were in the kitchen making dinner when the doctor knocked on the door. Miles had just come back in from cooking the meat on the fire he made right outside.

"I see you are feeling much better." The doctor stated as he walked in. Miles offered him to have dinner with them. The doctor accepted the offer, and decided that he would check on Rachel and the baby after they ate.

"I am! Bass offered to take half of the work off of Miles's hands." Rachel replied happily as she sat down at the table to get off of her feet for a while. She was still tired from earlier in the day. Gene mentally noted to thank Bass the next time he saw him. He was glad that Rachel wouldn't be alone all day.

"I'm glad I get to be around more." The doctor nodded as he took as seat as well. "I want to be around as much as I can." Miles added explaining how he wanted to help Rachel as much as he could, and be part of this experience. Gene was shocked, he did not think of Miles Matheson as very fatherly.

"That's a first." Gene joked. Miles pretended to be offended by the doctor's comment. They ate as they continued talking and laughing. Miles gave Rachel more and insisted she have it because she was eating for two.

"I want all of my ladies to be well fed." Rachel laughed at Miles's comment. If they had power they would know what their baby would be in two weeks. Now it would be a waiting game.

"I guess someone wants a little girl." Rachel replied as she got up to make her way upstairs. She didn't care what the gender of their child was. As long as the baby was healthy she was happy.

"We won't find out until the big day." Gene reminded them causing Rachel to sigh. His comment reminded her that she still had months to go. Miles stayed while the Doctor checked Rachel.

"How big is baby now?" Miles asked truly curious.

"About the size of a lemon, right Dad?" Rachel responded instantly remembering when she did the comparison pictures with her previous two pregnancies. Those were long gone now. She was upset because she couldn't document her progress with this child.

"More like one and a half or two lemons." Her father joked because she was measuring bigger than what was normal for fourteen weeks.

"You think she's going to be big like Charlie?" Rachel asked her father fearing the answer to that question. The doctor didn't want to give her a definite answer because he didn't want her to stress over that months before she had to. He too was afraid of the baby being large. Since there was no power there were a lot more risks than what there were before the blackout.

"It's hard to tell at this point, Rachel. Don't worry about it too much." The doctor assured her that she would be fine. "Also remember that every pregnancy is different." He reminded her that she might show earlier that what she did with Charlie, and possibly even Danny.

"How big was Charlie?" Rachel laughed remembering her reaction when they told her Charlie was right under ten pounds.

"She was nine pounds and fifteen ounces." Rachel answered as she looked up a Miles's reaction. "Dad, how big was I?" She asked out of curiosity.

"You were right under seven pounds." Gene answered reminiscing on the day that Rachel was born. He was looking forward to meeting his third grandchild.

"I don't remember what Ben and I weighed." Miles admitted.

"Hopefully this little one is a healthy but reasonable weight." Rachel pleaded with her unborn child not to be too big. Both of the men hoped for the best. They were doing anything they could to get that troubling thought off or Rachel's mind.

Meanwhile, Charlie was out with Connor helping him catch fish for Cara and her two daughters. As they were making their way out of the gate, Amanda was running towards them trying to catch up with them.

"I want to help!" Amanda yelled as she was catching up to them. Charlie sighed not really wanting Amanda to ruin her little outing with Connor. For the past month Amanda had been joining them anytime she got the chance to. At first Charlie was okay because she thought the girl was trying to be friendly. Now she thinks Amanda has an ulterior motive. Charlie wasn't going to say anything unless the girl crossed the line.

It seems that Amanda has also taken a liking to Connor, and Charlie was starting to catch on. She was annoyed that Connor was oblivious to the fact that Amanda was trying to get his attention. She also hated the fact that Amanda was oblivious to the fact that Connor was already in a relationship. Charlie knew that Connor was not going to ditch her for Amanda, but she still didn't like other girls flirting with him.

"We are going out to catch fish, and whatever else we can find. It gets pretty messy sometimes. Are you sure you want to come." Charlie asked hoping that the girl would change her mind. Much to Charlie's dismay, Amanda still wanted to join them regardless of the warning. The three of them made their way out into the open to start hunting for food. Once they made it to the lake, Connor went ahead leaving Charlie and Amanda behind for a little while. Amanda saw this as the perfect opportunity to get information about Connor, or so she thought.

"Do you know if he is seeing anyone?" Amanda asked Charlie still clueless to the fact that her and Connor are together.

"Who, Connor?" Amanda nodded at Charlie's response. Charlie decided that now was a perfect time put her foot down and set Amanda straight. "I hate to break it to you, but Connor has a girlfriend. They have been together for months and are still going strong." She added to get her point across. Connor called out for them to join him after he made sure the area was safe. Both girls made their way towards the lake.

As they were catching fish, Connor heard the grass rustling nearby. At first he thought someone had seen them, but when he looked closer he realized that it was a deer. He tapped Charlie on the shoulder to get her attention without being too loud. Connor pointed to the deer and Charlie got out her crossbow.

Just as Charlie was taking aim, Amanda was about to speak up. Connor made sure that she remained quiet so Charlie could hit the deer. If they could haul it back, they would have a really nice meal. Charlie's aim was pretty good. She ended up hitting the deer with the first shot.

"Dinner is served." Charlie stated as she walked over to the deer to inspect it. Charlie mad sure the deer was dead before attempting to move it. Connor walked over to help haul it.

"It looks like you and your family will eat well tonight." Connor added as lifted the deer. He also took the opportunity to praise Charlie for hitting it on the first shot. "As long as she is around, you will not go hungry." Connor went on about how Charlie was great at hunting. He loved showing her off to others.

"Hopefully we can find food like this in the fall and winter months." Charlie reminded them that there were a lot of animals roaming around in the summer. She was right, a few months from now the amount of animals they encounter would start to descend, as they get closer to winter. There was no way for them to store food that they had cooked. Since there was no refrigeration the food they cooked had to be eaten or it would spoil.


	10. Years

**Chapter 10: Years**

"You know, I'm glad I get to spend more time with you." Miles stated as he rolled over on his side to face Rachel. She was just starting to wake up.

"Me too." She mumbled still trying to wake up completely. The blonde pulled him closer to her and rested her head on his chest to listen to his heartbeat. It was his day to patrol Willoughby, but he knew five more minutes wouldn't hurt anything. He hated leaving her. Miles figured that he would pull his weight now so he could ask Bass to take over when Rachel was closer to her due date. He was glad that she and Charlie had grown closer. She was trying to help out her mother in any way that she could as well. Miles knew that between Charlie and Gene, Rachel would be taken care of while he was out working.

"I know you won't like this, but it's my day to work." He admitted hoping that she was coherent enough to understand what he was saying.

"Five more minutes?" She begged and gave him a convincing look to go with it. He couldn't resist her. He was still in love with her years later.

"How can I say no to you?" He replied as he looked into her eyes. She sighed in content as he pulled her as close to him as he could. Her growing bump prevented them from getting closer together than what they already were. They didn't stay that way for long. Rachel rolled back over on her back to try and get more comfortable. As she propped herself up against the pillows she felt it.

"Miles, give me your hand!" She exclaimed as she grabbed his hand before he could ask her why. She placed it where she felt the movement. Miles gasped when he actually felt it. Actually feeling the baby move made Miles realize that this was actually happening.

"He can't stay still, just like his father." Rachel joked. Miles was still in awe that he felt his child for the first time since Rachel told him when she first started feeling movement.

"He?" Miles asked and Rachel nodded. She had a feeling that this one was a boy.

"I have a gut feeling that this one is a boy." Rachel admitted as she gasped. The movement was now in a different spot "He's more active than Charlie and Danny were." She added as she leaned back against the pillows.

"I think this little lady takes after her mother." Miles laughed as he looked at her to see her reaction to his comment. He mentioned that Rachel didn't stay still either. She shook her head and pretended to be offended. She honestly didn't care either way, but wanted to have fun with Miles. She just wanted a healthy baby.

"Do you now." She laughed. He nodded and went on about how he loves all of his ladies. This made Rachel wonder if now was the right time to come clean, but then decided to wait until Charlie was with them.

"Yes, I do." He answered confidently as he got up off of the bed to go get ready. Rachel, Charlie, and the baby gave him a reason to put an end to all of this. "Rachel, I don't care what out child is. As long as he or she is healthy, I'm happy." Mile assured her. He joked around to make her laugh. He loved it when she smiled, and she had been doing that a lot lately. The last time he saw her smile like that was before the blackout.

As he was getting ready she got up to get dressed as well. She wanted to do something besides sitting around all day, and she figured she could give Charlie a break. Miles was confused as to why she was getting up. She noticed that he was staring at her as she was changing.

"What? It's not like you haven't seen me before. I know, I don't look as attractive as I used to." She mumbled going on about how her body wasn't as young and perky as it used to be as she got dressed. Rachel was in great shape for her age.

"You're just as beautiful as you were when I first met you, and that will never change." Miles assured her that she was still attractive to him years later. He also told her that her growing bump was adorable too before she could argue.

"You won't be saying that later." She chuckled. At the rate her bump was growing, it was going to look like she was already full term within the next few months. Miles disagreed with that too.

"Rachel, you will always be beautiful to me." He said causing her to tear up. She was touched by his words and the hormones were now getting the better of her. Miles noticed this and was confused.

"I'm fine." She assured Miles that he didn't do anything wrong before he could say anything. Miles nodded as he was looking around the room for his belt. He grabbed it and was putting it on. He finished getting ready so he could make his rounds.

"I love you." He stated as he came up behind her. "You do know that, right?" He asked as he gently turned her around to face him. She nodded as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. She didn't answer him back, but she stayed like that for a moment.

"I'll see you later." She finally spoke as she got out of her safe space so that he could go. Once they were downstairs he made his way to the door. She stood in the doorway watching him as he left for the day. Years ago, I'll see you later meant that he wouldn't see her until they had another chance to be together. Now when he told her that, it meant that he would come back home to her at the end of the day.

As he was walking to the police station, Miles was thinking about the same exact thing. He made the mistake of letting her go once years ago, and he wasn't going to do it ever again. Now that she was with him again, he would do everything that he could to keep her safe. He would put his life on the line to make sure Rachel, Charlie and their child were safe.

Miles wanted to redeem himself. He couldn't bring back all of the people that were killed when he was General Matheson, but he could help the ones living now by eliminating the Patriots. Miles was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Bass walking in.

"How's it going?" He asked startling Miles. He looked up from what he was working on at his desk and nodded at Bass.

"Being productive." Bass laughed at his response hoping he would explain. He was looking at the paper on the desk. He gestured at the paper asking about it.

"Aren't you quite the artist." Miles rolled his eyes before explaining what the drawing was about. Miles was actually glad that they were making a lot of progress with the town.

"I drew a very simple map of the town and I marked down the area's that could use more protection." He began explaining what they were going to try and get accomplished today.

"Let's get more people in those spots." Bass answered before Miles could say anything else. Their teamwork was reminding Bass of old times. Old times being before the blackout or Monroe republic.

"On it!" Miles got up from the desk with the map he drew and made his way out. Bass followed him out of the office. They were not short on men because they had been training them to help fight. The men gladly volunteered to protect the women, children and the elderly.

It was mid July and they were closer to the goal that they had set. They may not have defeated all of the Patriots, but they did strengthen the defense in Willoughby.

"You know this actually feels very rewarding." Bass admitted. Miles looked at his best friend confused as to what he meant.

"What do you mean?" Miles asked then it dawned on him what Bass mean by that.

"Helping take down the Patriots so they don't dominate what's left of the United States." Bass began. "I feel like I'm doing something good for once." He added as they continued walking around the town making sure everything was in order and safe.

"I feel the same." Miles agreed. "Do you have regrets too?" He asked his best friend only to get a nod.

"I do." Bass replied and took a breath before going on. "Over the years I became someone my family wouldn't even recognize. I lost myself." He admitted. "I want to be someone my mother and sisters would be proud of." He added.

"I'm sure they are proud of what you are doing to help everyone, Bass. I know I'm proud of you. You changed a lot over the years. Now you are changing for the better." Miles stated as they continued inspecting.

"This is much more satisfying than having complete control over everything." He admitted. He also liked the fact that he was no longer hated by everyone that he came across. People were actually starting to take comfort to the fact that he was around to keep the town safe.

Both men were starting to like the idea of staying in Willoughby and settling down. First they wanted to make up for the awful things they had done in the past. They were well on their way to freedom. Miles finally realized that he truly loved Rachel, and Bass has come to terms with everything that had happened. Defeating the Patriots would get both men closer to having the freedom that they truly wanted.

"Yes it is." Miles agreed. "We cannot change the past, but we can make a better future." He added. Miles was right, they couldn't change what they had done over the years, but they could start living in the present and making improvements.


	11. Red

**Chapter 11: Red**

It wasn't a busy day for Gene and Charlie so they decided to do things around the house during their downtime. Gene decided to go through all of the baby stuff that he kept from when Rachel was a baby. The doctor grabbed all of the baby stuff out of the spare bedroom so that he and Charlie could go through it. This was one of those times where he was grateful that his wife insisted on keeping all of the baby clothes and necessities.

"Is this all from when Mom was a baby?" Charlie asked her grandfather as she pulled an outfit out of the box that was in front of her. She noticed that there were more blue dresses than any other color. She also noticed that there were a lot of red boy outfits as well.

"Most of it is your mother's." The doctor replied. He noticed that she was looking at the boy outfits and decided to tell her. "The rest were for our little boy." He added. This confused Charlie, her mother never mentioned anything about a brother.

"Mom never mentioned that I had an uncle." She replied. The older man shook his head.

"That's because she wasn't around at the time." Gene explained. It had been many years since he spoke of the son he lost. Rachel knew she had an older brother, and that he died shortly after, if not before, he was born.

Charlie now understood why her grandfather was so protective of her and her mother. Like Rachel, he too had lost a child and didn't want to lose another one. The doctor was also grateful for Miles since he was the one who brought them back together. He was glad to have Rachel back in his life and that they were on good terms again.

"Grandpa, why are most of Mom's dresses blue? I thought blue was more for boys." Charlie asked confused as to why the dresses were blue and the boy outfits were a lighter red. The doctor picked up one of Rachel's dresses and reminisced on when she was a baby.

"One reason is blue was your mother's color. It still is her color." Gene began. Charlie was waiting for him to finish. "The other reason was more your grandmother's doing." The doctor laughed remembering that his wife was more of the history buff.

"Why is that?" Charlie asked still hoping to get an explanation for the red outfits.

"Long ago in the 19th and early 20th century the colors used to be reversed. Babies were dressed in lighter versions of what the adults wore. Red symbolized masculinity and blue was more feminine." The doctor began reciting what he remembered his wife explaining to him years ago.

"So boys were dressed in pink and girls were dressed in blue?" She repeated to make sure she heard that correctly. The older man nodded. "So why red for the boy outfits and not pink?" She asked.

"Your grandmother wanted to dress the boys in pink and the girls in blue. I agreed to the blue, but no son of mine would wear pink!" The doctor exclaimed as he paused to cool down for a bit.

"So, let me guess the lighter red was a compromise?" Gene laughed and nodded. They pulled more outfits out of the box and separated them.

"That's exactly what that was." The doctor chuckled as he grabbed another outfit and placed it into one of the piles. "I told your grandmother this was no longer the 19th century and that we would have to make some compromises." The doctor finished.

"Now all of that doesn't really matter." She replied thinking about how times have changed. Charlie was sure her mother wouldn't really care what color the baby outfits were. All that would matter is that the baby would have clothes since those were hard to come by now. Thankfully they had a selection for both since they wouldn't find out what the baby would be until the big day.

"I didn't think I would ever be pulling these out of the back room." The doctor admitted thinking that he wasn't going to have anymore grandchildren after Danny.

"I'm glad we did this today." Charlie went on about how she liked looking at stuff from when her mother was younger. Charlie still looked up to her mother, but Rachel thought otherwise. Everyone but Rachel seems to notice this. "We also have the stuff organized for when we will need it." She added as she grabbed another box of outfits.

"I think we are good on baby clothes." Gene chuckled as he put another outfit into a pile. He grabbed another dress, but he put that one off to the side. "This one is special." He told Charlie that this was the dress that Rachel wore when he and her grandmother took her home from the hospital.

"So Grandpa, which team are you on? Team red or team blue?" Charlie asked wondering what her grandfather's answer would be. He shrugged because all he wanted was a healthy grandchild. "Me and Miles think it's a girl, so I'm for team blue." She added and also stated that she would love her sibling regardless. Charlie looked up at the doctor waiting for him to answer the question.

"Your Mom and I think this one is a boy, so I'm for team red." Gene admitted hoping that some of the boy outfits would be put to use. He was happy regardless because he would get to watch this grandchild grow up and be part of his or her life. He felt like he missed out on that with Charlie and Danny since they didn't live close. "I'll be happy regardless. It will be nice to have a little one running around again." He added as he grabbed another box and opened it.

"What is in this box?" She asked gesturing to the box that he just opened. The doctor grabbed a teddy bear out of the box and held it up for her to see.

"More things from when your mother was a child." He said remembering exactly when he had given Rachel that bear. Charlie started looking through the contents in the box as well and put some things aside.

"Do you mind if I bring some of these to Mom?" She asked thinking that Rachel would appreciate it. The doctor shook his head and told her to go for it.

"I think she would love that." He replied as he pulled a doll out of the box and added it to the pile that Charlie had started.


	12. Orange

**Chapter 12: Orange**

Charlie was out gathering food with Connor when she saw them. Just as they were walking up to the gate, Charlie though she spotted Aaron and Priscilla. Charlie ran off to catch up with them leaving Connor to carry the fish that they managed to catch.

"Aaron?" Charlie asked as she caught up to the couple. The man looked back to see who was calling out to them. He was just as shocked as she was.

"Charlie is that you?" The man asked. Charlie nodded as she ran up and hugged Aaron. Connor finally managed to catch up with them and was confused as to what was going on.

"Yes it's me." She replied. She let the guards know that Aaron and Priscilla were their friends and it was okay for them to come into the town. He thanked her for getting them in.

"So, how are Miles and your mother?" He asked remembering how everything wasn't that great before everyone split up and went their separate ways. She motioned for them to follow her.

"You can ask them yourself in a few minutes." She exclaimed as she showed them the way to the house.

"Did you find out more about the nanites?" Charlie asked earning a nod from Aaron.

"That's part of the reason we came back." Priscilla spoke up as she was trying to catch up with them.

"Are we going to have to start worrying about them too?" Charlie asked hoping they could answer that. Aaron said he would explain all of that when they got to the house. Charlie knocked on the door before walking in with Aaron and Priscilla. She did not want them to experience what she did weeks ago.

"Mom, we have some guests." Charlie said when Rachel answered the door. Rachel was shocked to see them too.

"Aaron, you're back!" Rachel said as she tried her best to hug him. "Priscilla too." She added as she invited them in.

"How are you?" She asked them. They filled her in on what they found out on their trip. While Pricilla was going on about the nanites, Aaron was trying hard not to stare. He was waiting for Rachel to say something before he asked.

"I see you have been productive over here in Willoughby." Aaron spoke realizing what he just said could have been taken the wrong way. He thought of something quickly to add to his statement. "The town looks really nice since the last time we were here." He added hoping that saved him. He wasn't trying to be rude he was just shocked. He sighed in relief when Rachel started explaining everything that happened since they were gone.

"Frank Blanchard decided to work with us to eliminate the patriots. Willoughby is headquarters. We lay low and pretend like nothing is going on while we train men here in the town." Rachel began and took a breath as she sat down in a chair. She invited everyone else to join her. She also mentioned how Bass was out with the General for two weeks and how he was after Ed Truman. "On top of all of that another Matheson will be joining us in four months or so." She added finally answering Aaron's unasked question.

"Sounds like a lot is going on over here." Rachel laughed since he wasn't wrong. "Congratulations by the way!" He added hoping he didn't offend her earlier with his comment. She was excited even though they were in the middle of stopping a war.

"Thanks." She replied as she got up to go get a glass of water. Charlie told her to stay and that she would get the water. "Would the two of you like to join us for dinner?" Rachel offered and explained that they would start preparing the meal once Miles was finished for the day.

"We would love to." Priscilla replied speaking for both her and Aaron. Charlie returned with water for everyone.

"Where is Miles anyways?" Aaron asked as he put the glass of water down on the coffee table. That was when Charlie and Rachel filled them in.

"Miles is the sheriff in this town." Charlie went on about how they managed to make Willoughby a nice community again. Rachel also informed them that Bass was helping out and that he had changed.

They continued making small talk in the front room making small talk until the door opened startling everyone. It was just Miles coming in after being out all day. He came in with a crate full of oranges.

"Can I interest anyone in some oranges." He asked as he placed the crated down on the ground before joining everyone. Aaron and Priscilla gasped at the amount of oranges that were in the crate. They haven't seen that much food in a long time since they have been on their journey to Idaho.

"How did you get all of that?" Aaron asked causing Miles to laugh. Last time they were in Willoughby the patriots were the ones giving out the food, and they were not that generous.

"Being the sheriff has its perks." Miles joked as he brought the crate to the kitchen and returned.

"Miles, could you make me some orange juice?" She begged hoping he would make it for her. She was getting to the point where it was uncomfortable to be on her feet for long. "Your child really wants some." She added trying to convince him to make it.

"Anything for my ladies." Miles responded as he got up to go make Rachel some orange juice. As he was doing so she remembered how for each of her pregnancies she craved orange. For Charlie, it was orange flavored icees and orange flavored soda. When she was pregnant with Danny it was orange slice candies. With this child it was oranges and orange juice. Fortunately for her, oranges were easy to come by. "One freshly squeezed orange juice!" He stated as he handed her the glass and a plate with orange slices.

"Thank you." She replied before drinking the entire glass.

"Anyone else want some?" He asked offering to make everyone a glass. Charlie nodded, but she got up to make her own. She also offered to make a glass for everyone. As she was in the kitchen squeezing the oranges she listened to the conversation going on in the other room.

"Miles, it seems like you have mellowed out a lot since I last saw you." Aaron blurted out as Miles joined them in the front room.

"Mellowed?" He laughed off Aaron's comment. Rachel knew that Aaron's comment had hurt Miles's pride. Sure he had mellowed out, but only when he was around close friends and family. Besides close friends and family, no one sees this side of Miles Matheson.

"That's not a bad thing, Miles." Rachel reassured him that there was nothing wrong with showing love, affection, and emotion towards loved ones. He really had come a long way and she didn't want him going back to the way he was before, cold and detached. When he was with the republic, some would have described him as heartless. He made progress by leaving the republic, but that wasn't much better. He tried to drink himself into oblivion so he would forget everything that he had done. Things went uphill from there ever since Charlie had asked for his help, causing him to leave Chicago. Because of her he now realized he had a purpose.

"More?" She nodded and handed him the glass. She laughed as he shook his head. He was glad that her craving was something that was rather easy to come by. If not, he would have felt terrible for not being able to provide it for her.

He walked into the kitchen to prepare another glass for Rachel. Before he could do so, Charlie handed him a full glass, and motioned to the others that she had made.

"Let me guess, Mom wanted more?" She chuckled as Miles nodded. Charlie figured that it would be her mother wanting more rather than everyone else. She made extra to have on hand knowing that they wouldn't go to waste.

"Thank goodness we have a near endless supply of oranges." He laughed motioning to the crate full of them as he and Charlie joined everyone in the fron room.


	13. Yellow

**Chapter 13: Yellow**

"So you are trying to tell me that these nanites can take on the form of anything and anyone?" Miles asked still very confused. Aaron put his head in his palms and sighed. This was going to be complicated to explain.

"Kind of." Aaron spoke finally coming up with a simple way to explain the nanites to Miles. "You cannot actually see them since they are microscopic." He went on explaining what the nanites were. Rachel decided to help poor Aaron out since Miles was still having trouble grasping the concept.

"These little particles are the reason that the power is gone." Rachel went on to explain how the nanites only have two commands.

"What are these commands and who controls them?" Miles asked wondering if these nanites were the root of the entire problem.

"They were designed to absorb electricity and to replicate." She explained confusing him even more.

"Replicate what exactly?" At this point Rachel was just going to start from the beginning.

"It all started when Ben and I were working on the pendants. We were trying to find away to make electricity cheaper for families." She began explaining where the nanites came from. My friend and co-worker Jane invented them. She wanted to be able to cure people that normally couldn't be cured." She went on about how it saved Danny's life. She began crying. Miles realized it was still hard for her to bring him up.

"So these nanites can replicate human tissue?" Rachel nodded as she composed herself.

"Shortly after Danny was born they put a device in him that contained the nano. This device replaced his defective lung tissues keeping him alive. It also cured Beth's cancer." Rachel went on about how this is what they were originally designed for. That was when Miles realized that the second command was unintentional.

"So it wasn't invented to absorb electricity?" He asked starting to put everything together. Rachel shook her head.

"When we noticed that we asked Jane if we could tinker with it for our project, which was the pendants. Even though Aaron went with Rachel to the Tower, some of this was new information to him as well.

"Apparently she liked the code Priscilla and I wrote when we were at MIT." He added still confused as to why they used it. "I was able to control them until I told them go away." Aaron admitted hoping he didn't cause the world even more grief.

"So who controls them now?" No one wanted to think about what Miles had just unintentionally brought up.

"No one." Rachel answered truthfully. "That's the issue with the nanites." She added as she looked out the window.

"This is where the replicate part becomes a problem. The nanites can show up in the form of another person." Aaron explained that they also showed up in other forms as well. Like Rachel, he too looked out of the window. Both of them noticed the yellow specks in the night sky. He hoped that the yellow specks were actual fireflies and not the nanites following him.

Aaron got up and made his way outside immediately. Rachel struggled to get up out of her chair. Miles helped her up and followed her outside as well. Charlie and Priscilla looked at each other and shrugged as they went out as well.

Rachel sat down in one of the chairs and looked at the sight before her. The fireflies reminded her of when was a better place. The fireflies she collected in a jar when she was a child were harmless bugs. Now she wasn't sure if the world was a safe place anymore. Her thoughts gave her an idea, but she wasn't sure if it could be done.

"Charlie, could you get me a jar?" Rachel asked her daughter. She would have gotten up to get it herself but it was getting harder to move around a lot. Charlie gave her a look of confusion as she got up to go get the jar.

"What are you doing?" Miles asked as Charlie handed her mother the jar and sat back down. Rachel got up from her chair and made her way over to where she saw the yellow speck glowing in the night.

"Mom?" Charlie asked wondering the same thing as Miles. They got their answer when they saw what she was doing. Rachel was capturing the fireflies or possibly nanites. After she collected about twenty or thirty fireflies she screwed the lid on the jar and made her way back to the porch. She held up the jar that was filled with a yellow glow.

"I have an idea, but it may or may not work." Rachel stated as she held up the jar for everyone to see.

"Your idea is capturing fireflies and using them as light?" Miles joked causing Rachel to laugh at his sarcasm. She looked at the glow in the jar again and smiled.

"No, I say we capture these things and corral them all into one location." Rachel stated proud of her idea. She said things because she knew that the nano was very smart and aware of what was going on. She was hoping she could temporarily throw them off by referring to them as things. Aaron and Priscilla caught on right away. "They are pretty though." She added as she continued looking at the yellow glow in the jar.

"Rachel, I know its pretty, but I wouldn't stare at that jar for too long if you know what I mean." Priscilla warned her knowing that if it were actually the nanites, they could possess her as well. Miles took the jar before the blond could throw it across the yard.

"Thank you." She replied as he unscrewed the lid and let the fireflies out.

"Wouldn't want to give those things a reason to linger around." He answered. She was impressed that he was catching on rather quickly.

"You're right." She sighed as she attempted to get up. Charlie held out her hand to help her up out of the chair.

"Let's take this back inside." Charlie said as she motioned for everyone to come back in the house. Aaron and Priscilla hesitated a minute before following them in.

"It's getting late though. We could come back tomorrow and discuss this. We don't want to burden you." Aaron said as he and Priscilla were about to leave to find a place to stay.

"Nonsense! We have more than enough rooms for you to stay the night." Rachel argued as she motioned for them to come back in. The reluctantly agreed and followed the Matheson family back into the house. "It's not like I get much sleep these days." She joked at she sat down in her chair.

"I have an idea but we would need the pendants." Aaron mentioned something about making a shield to temporarily keep the nano away from them so they could talk.

"Kind of hard to go through with that since we completely destroyed all of the pendants." Miles shot the idea down almost instantly. Rachel figured that now would be the time to speak up.

"Actually there is still one pendant out there." She admitted as she looked around to gauge everyone's expressions before continuing.

"I thought we destroyed all of them?" Aaron asked. Miles nodded in agreement. Charlie looked over at her mother waiting for an explanation.

"Rachel?" Miles asked hoping to get an explanation. Was there a pendant still out there or did she take one apart and keep it hidden.

"I kept one hidden." She admitted to not destroying all of the pendants. She went on about how they had a 13th pendant, but it was never activated. It was never put together therefore it didn't show up on the radar.

"Where is this pendant?" Miles asked causing Rachel to sigh.

"It's in the apartment Ben and I shared before the blackout happened." She answered. "I guess we are going on a little trip to retrieve it?" She asked. Miles shook his head.

"That's not going to happen! Rachel, you aren't going anywhere and I'm not leaving you unless I absolutely have to." Miles stressed to Rachel that she was not going to Chicago. "How important is it that we get this pendant?" He asked as he looked over at Aaron.

"If we want to plan without these things hearing us, it's very important." He answered back. He motioned at himself and Priscilla before speaking up again. "We could go get it." He offered.

"There has to be another way." Rachel mumbled as she looked out of the window to see if the fireflies were still there. It seems like the glowing yellow specks in the night sky seemed to have gone down, but that did not mean that they were safe.

"We will think of a way to put an end to all of this." Miles reassured everyone that they would work something out to get that pendant. Charlie nodded in agreement.

"It's getting late. I don't know about you all, but I am going get some sleep." Charlie yawned as she got up from her spot on the couch to go upstairs.

"We can talk more about this in the morning." Miles added as he got up to go show Aaron and Priscilla the guest bedroom that they would be staying it. Rachel got up as well and made her way to her and Miles's bedroom upstairs. She looked out the window again to see if they were still lingering around outside. She no longer saw the yellow glow of the fireflies outside and sighed in relief.

"I know you are still out there." She thought to herself. She didn't know what was worse, knowing that the nanites were out of control or that the patriots were still out there trying to take over.


	14. Green

**Chapter 14: Green**

"Rachel, you aren't going!" The doctor began shouting before they could even finish explain the plan to him. The blonde put her hand up to stop him and calm him down. Even thought everyone was arguing, they were outside enjoying the weather. It was rather nice for being mid August in Texas.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm not going anywhere." He sighed in relief. Gene thought his daughter had lost her mind and was about to go to Chicago. "I was simply explaining that someone needed to go to our old place in Chicago because there is something important there." She explained.

"I'll go, Mom." Charlie told her mother that she would go. Rachel shook her head.

"Absolutely not!" Rachel shouted. Miles got up from helping the doctor with his garden to go handle the situation before it got out of hand. "I already lost one child. I will not lose you too." Rachel cried. Miles put a hand on her shoulder and assured her that Charlie was not going to Chicago if he had anything to do with it.

"What's all the commotion over here about?" Bass asked as he walked up to where everyone was arguing. "Also, what's with all the greens?" He laughed as he motioned to the garden that Gene had started about a month ago. The doctor rolled his eyes at that comment.

"We have a plan that involves using one of the pendants." Miles began but Bass spoke before he could finish what he was going to say.

"I thought all of those were destroyed." He asked only to find out that that he had been lied to. He immediately looked at Rachel. Miles gave Bass a look that told him to drop it.

"Technically all of them were destroyed." Rachel quipped knowing where Bass was about to go with that comment. "We had the parts for a thirteenth pendant, but never made it." She added hoping that he would get the point. He couldn't argue with her on that, nor did he want to argue.

"So what do we need the parts for and where are they?" He asked wanting to know more about this plan. Aaron filled him in on how the nanites getting out of control could have something to do with everything. Bass decided that he would volunteer to go with Aaron.

"I'll go." Aaron spoke up volunteering to go since he knew where Rachel and Ben's old apartment in Chicago was. No one wanted to tell him that he wasn't the best at fighting. Bass saved everyone by speaking up first.

"I'm going with him." Bass stated. He wasn't going to let him go off on his own.

"Someone has to protect the Brainiac." Bass added causing everyone to laugh.

"Well then it's settled." The doctor said making his way over to the group of people gathered on the porch. He offered to help them pack things that would come in handy and last them long enough to get there and possibly back.

"What if Frank comes looking for you? What am I going to tell him?" Bass laughed at Miles's question. "What's so funny about that." He asked confused as to why he was laughing.

"Tell Frank I went on a hunt for Ed Truman." He implied that he was done helping the general with pointless tasks such as that one. He informed them that Texas was pretty much Patriot free.

"When do we leave?" Aaron asked so he could mentally prepare himself for another journey. He was hoping that they would at least wait until the next day. Much to his relief Bass was thinking the same thing.

"The sooner we leave the better, but we still need time to gather what we will need." Bass explained. He also mumbled something about needing a good nights sleep before going anywhere. "I say we leave tomorrow sometime before dark preferably." He added as started walking away from the group.

"Where are you going?" Miles asked confused as to why Bass was leaving not long after showing up.

"I have a long ass hike I need to start packing for." He laughed as he made his way towards his house. "If anyone wants to come help me they can." He added hoping that someone would help him out so it wouldn't take too long. Miles offered to help both men. It was the least that he could do since he wasn't the one leaving. He didn't want to chance not getting back in time to meet his child, which was understandable. He also didn't want that to be the last time he saw Rachel or Charlie.

"How can I help?" Miles asked as he started to walk in the direction of Bass's house. Gene put his hand up to stop Miles from going further.

"You can help him by gathering some of the herbs they may need and help me grind them up for Aaron and Bass." The older man instructed Miles on which herbs to pull and how much to take. He also tried to reason with Rachel to stay off of her feet.

"Got it!" He replied as he joined Gene in the garden that he ha started. Since he had help it didn't take long to collect the herbs that the men would need for their journey to Chicago. "So what exactly are these for and how are they used?" He asked breaking the silence as they walked back inside. The doctor explained what each herb was used for and how they could be combined or used alone to do certain things.

"Would you mind chopping and grinding these into a powder?" He asked as he walked over to the cabinet to look for an extra bottle of lavender to get for Bass and Aaron. Miles did as he was told and ground the dried herb into a powder. He realized that some of the things that they had gathered were to replenish what was being made.

In the house across the street Bass was gathering things that he thought was necessary. He also thought that he and Aaron could coordinate one some things so they could have everything covered. There were certain things that both of them would need and there were others that they could share.

Bass finished putting stuff in his bag that he thought was necessary to have before walking out of his house to find Aaron. Fortunately Aaron and Priscilla were able to find a house on the same street. They were two houses down from Miles and Rachel. Bass realized this when he saw them talking to Cara and her younger daughter.

"Bass," Aaron called out and motion for him to come over to join them. Bass strolled across the street and through Miles and Cara's yards.

"All packed?" He asked. Aaron nodded and asked if he was as well. Cara handed them both some empty jars.

"It's not much, but I want to help in any way that I can." She went on about how they could use them to store food or other supplies that they wanted to keep safe.

"Thank you. I'm sure these jars will come in handy one our trip, right Bass?" Aaron began hoping Bass would speak up too. Aaron looked at him hoping that he would catch on.

"Yes they will!" Bass began. "In fact, I think these will be perfect to store all of the greens that the doctor was pulling out of his garden to give us. Priscilla was trying very hard to hold back the laughter and was barely succeeding.

"You mean herbs?" She laughed finishing Bass's thought. He looked at her and laughed.

"Yeah, those things." Bass agreed as he put the jars in his bag.

Meanwhile two houses down Miles was helping the doctor prepare the herbs to make medicines, and supplements for the men. Gene had sent Charlie and Rachel to the library to find a book on the uses of herbs in medicine. He was pretty sure he knew what to do with them, but he wanted to double check just to be on the safe side.

"So what does this concoction do exactly?" Miles asked the doctor wanting to know more about how these herbal medicines worked.

"When ground up and mixed with lavender and coconut oil, this creates a salve which can be used to prevent cuts an wounds from getting infected." The doctor explained as he added the lavender oil to the ground up herbs and coconut oil.

"Definitely something they will want to bring with them." Miles replied as he grabbed the bowl from the doctor to start mixing the ingredients together. Gene began making another batch. This was something that he thought they should have a lot of on hand for their journey.

"I wonder what's taking the women so long." Gene asked not really wanting to know the answer to that.

"Hopefully they didn't run into trouble." Miles stated what Gene was probably thinking. Gene reminded Miles that the library wasn't that far away from their homes, and that they would go investigate if necessary.

"I say we give them a few more minutes." Gene proposed that they wait a little bit longer. Maybe they were having trouble locating the book that he had asked them to find, or maybe someone else was using it. It's not like they were able to use the computers to locate the books. People were usually good about bringing them back after they were done.

In the library on the next street Charlie and Rachel were still looking around. Poor Charlie was the one carrying al of the books. Gene had only sent them in for one book, but as they were walking around Rachel saw a book that caught her interest. One book turned into two and two into nine or ten books. Charlie had no clue that her mother loved to read until now.

"Mom, I think we should head back now." Charlie suggested as she struggled to carry the ten books that Rachel had handed her. Rachel looked at her daughter and nodded.

"You're right." Charlie was glad that she didn't have to add more books to the stack that she was already carrying. Walking through the deserted library gave her an idea. "Let's head back now. I'm sure your grandfather and Miles will probably come looking for us if we stay much longer." She added as she stopped for a second to catch her breath before they started walking back home.

"I see them coming." Miles stated as he looked through the blinds. Gene was glad that they were okay. He was still going to ask them what took them so long though. By the time they walked in he didn't need to ask. He noticed that Charlie was carrying nine or ten books. He only asked for one.

"You didn't need to get all of those. I only asked for the one book." The Doctor said as he grabbed some of the books so Charlie didn't drop them.

"The rest of them are for me." Rachel spoke up as she sat down in her chair. Gene couldn't help but laugh. "I figured since I won't be able to do much as in the coming weeks I might as well enjoy it." She mumbled. Gene had told her to start limiting how active she was. He told her no walking long distances, lifting anything heavy, or anything else that was stressful.

"Which one is mine?" He laughed looking at the stack of books that Charlie had placed on the coffee table in the front room.

"The green one." She quipped as she grabbed one of her books off of the coffee table next to the chair and began reading it. The doctor grabbed the green book and started looking through it. In it he found a lot of different cures and remedies that he did not already know how to make. It was at this point that he realized that this little green book would be his new best friend. He found another one that would be good for Bass and Aaron to have on hand. He disappeared into his practice to go make some of these new remedies so that Bass and Aaron could have them for the next day.


	15. Blue

**Chapter 15: Blue**

It was bright and early the next day. Bass and Aaron were getting the last of their things ready before they would embark on their journey to Chicago to retrieve the disassembled pendant. Aaron was the first one to walk out of the house, and he felt terrible for leaving Priscilla again.

"Aaron, I promise I will be fine." His wife assured him that she would be okay staying behind. She also mentioned that she would be in good hands since Miles was staying in Texas.

"Has anyone seen Bass?" Aaron asked as he and Priscilla walked towards Gene's house to collect the medicines that he was making for their journey. Everyone but Bass was already gathered at the doctor's house.

"I'm pretty sure I just found him." Miles pointed to a heavily armed Bass who was walking towards the house. No one had to worry about them getting into trouble with a few patriots here and there.

"What?" Bass asked realizing that everyone was staring at him. "If anyone asks we are out looking for Ed Truman." He added causing everyone to laugh even though only Gene and the Matheson clan understood the joke. Bass wasn't going to let that go anytime soon.

"All jokes aside, please be safe out there." The older man said as he handed them some of the medicines he made for both of them. He then gave the rest to Aaron for safekeeping since Bass already had a lot to carry.

"Will do." Aaron replied as he put the remaining medicines in his bag. Before he could ask, the doctor explained what each medicine did and that he had them all labeled.

Everyone was wishing Bass and Aaron well on their trip to Chicago. Rachel however, was sitting on the porch writing something down. She walked over to do the same after she had finished. She was writing down the exact location of the parts of the pendants for Aaron. She also asked him to find something else in that house in her letter. Even though she and Bass were on better terms, she still did not trust him with something tis important. After shaking Bass's hand she made her way over to Aaron.

"Be safe out there Aaron." She tried her best to give him a hug. As she got closer to him she whispered something in his ear. He felt her put something in his pocket. "Read it when you are alone." She muttered as she backed away. She pretended to stumble so it wouldn't be obvious. Miles came to her rescue.

"What was that about?" Bass had asked his partner for the journey. Fortunately Aaron and Rachel were able to come up with something believable quickly.

"I was telling Rachel, hopefully we make it back before this little one arrives." Miles nodded playing along still not knowing what was going on. Miles hoped that they would make it back to Texas before winter came.

"If we move as quick as I want to we will be back soon." Bass stated as he gave Aaron a pat on the shoulder. Miles gave Bass a warning glare. "Don't worry we will move at a reasonable pace." He added causing Aaron to sigh in relief.

"Stop when necessary, but don't stay in one location for long. If you are constantly on the move the chances of running into patriots are lower." Miles suggested hoping Bass would follow this idea. He knew Bass could handle the journey to Chicago at a fast pace, but he also knew that Aaron was not used to that.

"Got it boss." Bass answered back hoping that Miles would stop telling him how to do his job. "Anything else?" Miles rolled his eyes and motioned for him to get going so they would be moving during the day rather than night.

Everyone said their goodbyes and gave their hugs as the two men made their way for the town gate. Connor, Charlie, and Amanda went off to fish like they usually do. Cara and Ava went back to their house, and the doctor went back to his. Miles and Rachel were headed back to their house, and Priscilla was catching up to them after watching the men leave until she could no longer see them.

"I miss him already." Priscilla feared that this would be the last time that she saw her husband. She had lost him once already, and she didn't want it to happen again. Rachel motioned for Miles to go ahead without her. She was going to walk back with Priscilla to her house.

"I know they will make it back. With Aaron's brains and Bass's temper those two will be unstoppable." Rachel reassured the other woman that the men would make it back from their journey.

"Thanks" Priscilla replied as she opened the front door.

"Anytime." Priscilla smiled as she walked inside. "I'm right next door. If you need anything don't hesitate to come over." She added as she made her way back to her house.

"I'm back." The blonde called out as she walked into her home. Miles emerged from the kitchen eating an orange. He held one out to her.

"Want one?" He asked as she took it without hesitating. She began peeling it instantly.

"Thanks." She replied with a mouth full of food causing him to chuckle. Both of them sat in the front room without saying anything for a few seconds. Miles was the one to break the silence. He wanted to know what she was telling Aaron before they left.

"What were you whispering to Aaron before they left?" Miles asked hoping to get an answer. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Oh, that." She mumbled. "I left him a note asking him to grab Charlie and Danny's baby books, and there were a few more blank books on the same shelf. If I remember right each book is a different shade of blue." She explained that it wasn't anything to do with their plan to confuse the nanites. She just didn't want Bass to shrug it off as unimportant because it wasn't part of the plan. That was why she asked Aaron to find it.

"Why do you want the blank books too?" Miles was still confused. He figured it would be pointless since they couldn't take pictures to put in the book.

"It's the least I can do for our child. I may have had pictures in Charlie and Danny's book, but I also wrote journal entries throughout the first few years starting with the pregnancy." She explained that she wanted all of her children to know how loved they are. She wanted Danny's so that she could at least have some pictures of the child she lost. Miles didn't know what to say. He noticed that she hasn't been crying every time Danny was mentioned or someone brought him up. Just because she stopped breaking down didn't mean that it hurt any less.

Before Miles could ask she grabbed a small notebook off of the small coffee table next to her chair and handed it to him. He opened it to the first page and began reading. He didn't have to say anything. He continued reading and that was when he realized that she began writing this before she told him. All this time he thought she was just writing because it made her feel better.

"You started this journal the moment you realized?" Rachel nodded wiping the tears from her eyes. He realized that she wanted their child to have a book just like his or her siblings did. It may not have pictures, but she wanted this child to know that he or she is loved just as much as their siblings.

"I did." She admitted. "I want all my children to have a little blue book." She added. When Aaron came back she would rewrite everything that was in the notebook into the blue book.


End file.
